Validating an African Swine Fever Virus Subunit Vaccine

Protecting U.S. Swine from ASFV

African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious, fatal disease in pigs that spreads rapidly. There is no commercially available treatment or vaccine for the virus, and it poses a significant threat to United States swine production, a $57-billion-dollar industry.

Without a preventative vaccine or treatment, producers’ only control options are enhancing biosecurity, increasing surveillance and quarantining or culling infected pigs. Producers need a way to protect their herds.

To address this urgent concern, Dr. Waithaka Mwangi, immunology professor in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University (K-State), is developing and validating a vaccine to protect pigs from the virus. Existing research has shown that certain proteins inherent within the virus can activate protective immunity. This research is focused on identification of the protective ASFV proteins, identification of an effective vaccination method that will spur a protective immune response in pigs and validation of the prototype vaccine’s efficacy using a large sample size for the study.

ASFV has existed in Africa for decades, but it is now spreading due to changing production practices and increasing globalization. ASFV entered China in August 2018 and significantly disrupted the country’s pork industry for several years after. The virus is now infecting swine herds across the globe, with the closest outbreaks to the U.S. occurring in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

This Research is Critical for the Pork Industry

The U.S. swine production is an important player in the U.S. economy, providing food, revenue and employment. In fact, according to the National Pork Producer Council, the pork industry contributes $57+ billion in value added (GDP) to the U.S. economy, provides more than 610,000 jobs and generates $35 billion in personal income. Additionally, the swine industry supports other industries like soybean and corn for feed, transportation, processing and finance.

ASFV threatens swine wellbeing, producers’ livelihoods and an industry critical to the U.S. economy. An ASFV outbreak on U.S. soil would be catastrophic not only for the pork industry, but also for other agriculture commodities that support the industry. Preliminary estimates suggest an outbreak could result in as much as $15 billion in losses to the pork industry based on a 2-year scenario or $50 billion in losses if we are unable to contain and eliminate ASFV in a 10-year scenario.