Researchers from the Vacdiva project will test an ASF vaccine candidate in wild boar since they are considered the main vector of the contagion in Europe.
Vacdiva, backed by EU funding (USD 9.6 million), produced an experimental ASF vaccine, which they hope could be available around the end-2024 or in 2025.
The researchers will inoculate 300 feral pigs with baits in the forests of Hungary this winter. The experiment will provide them with the animals’ responsive data for further research on the medication and preparation of the final vaccine.
‘The biggest problem in Europe right now is infected wild boar. If we can control the disease in wild boar, we probably don’t need to vaccinate domestic pigs,” said project lead José Manuel Sánchez-Vizcaíno, who is also a professor of animal health at the Complutense University of Madrid.
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What is the Vacdiva vaccine?
The vaccine Vacdiva is working on is an international collaboration involving laboratories in Europe, Africa, and China.
Researchers wielded new gene editing tools to pare down the viral DNA until only the bare bones were left. They created a virus that was a shell of its old self, with a handful of genes chosen immunologically to poke pigs enough to give them immunity.
This virus is used in the experimental vaccine that will feature in the Hungary trial. The same vaccine at lower doses should work for farm pigs if the need arises.
‘Wild boars are more resistant to ASF, so we can use higher doses of the vaccine for them,’ said Dr Sánchez-Vizcaíno.
The vaccine was tested on wild boar in a research facility in Madrid and prove effective.
The trial in the wild boar at the Hungarian forests will help researchers identify how many consumed the vaccine bait. Without such insight, researchers would be unaware of how a vaccination campaign is progressing.
For now, the Vacdiva project has been extended until July 2024. Depending on the progress of the trials, the vaccine could be available by end-2024 or 2025.
