Scientists design model to aid pig fever vaccine development

NAIROBI -- International scientists said on Wednesday that they have come up with a reverse genetics system to aid the development of vaccines against African swine fever virus.

The scientists from the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and other research institutes said the study, dubbed "a synthetic genomics-based African swine fever virus engineering platform," was conducted from 2018 to 2024.

Hussein Abkallo, a researcher at ILRI, said that the finding is a promising development toward potential solutions for controlling a deadly pig disease that has global repercussions and is most damaging for small-scale livestock keepers.

"Globally, ASFV outbreaks have caused devastating economic losses amounting to billions of dollars, severely impacting the pork industry, food security, and livelihoods," Abkallo said in a statement released in Kenya's capital of Nairobi.

He said that the impact of the virus is dire in Africa given the presence of multiple genotypes of the virus and the widespread lack of adequate biosecurity measures to control the disease.

According to the research team, the finding gives hope for developing new, targeted vaccines that can protect animal health to reduce mortality as well as the environmental footprint of the livestock sector by preventing unnecessary losses.

Sanjay Vashee, lead researcher of the project, said that the study creates tools that can be applied to other emerging viral threats as well as advancing the understanding of the virus.

"This research has the potential to significantly reduce the economic losses caused by ASFV in the global swine industry, providing much-needed solutions to control and prevent the spread of the disease," Vashe said.

African swine fever is a deadly viral disease affecting domestic pigs that has a large global economic impact on the swine industry.

There are currently no effective treatments or widely licensed vaccines available to prevent the disease.