Researchers design tools to develop vaccines more efficiently for African swine fever virus

Researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute, the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have developed a reverse genetics system for the African swine fever virus.

This new system will aid researchers in developing vaccines and in studying the pathogenesis and biology of African swine fever, a highly contagious, deadly viral disease affecting domesticated and wild pigs, especially prevalent in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.

A recent study estimates that if African swine fever reached the United States of America, it could result in economic losses exceeding 50 billion United States dollars over a ten-year period.

Photo: Local pigs in Tay Nguyen, Vietnam (credit: ILRI/Fred Unger)