World meat industry news

In Russia, a candidate vaccine strain has been developed that protects against the African swine fever (ASF) virus. The vaccine is considered one of the most dangerous diseases in animal husbandry, and positive results have been obtained during its development, the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science reported. The studies were carried out on the basis of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Federal Research Center for Virology and Microbiology". The new vaccine should help reduce the number of outbreaks in Russia.

The Ministry of Education and Science also told Agroinevstor that in 2022, in order to combine the competencies of various scientific teams when creating an ASF vaccine, specialized scientific institutions of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rosselkhoznadzor signed a consortium agreement. The association is needed to implement scientific projects aimed both at creating an experimental sample of a vaccine that protects animals from death, and at developing the scientific basis for vaccination strategies against African swine fever. The consortium members are eight scientific and educational organizations. Scientific research on the development of effective and safe ASF vaccines will continue.

In November 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko ordered the development of a vaccine against ASF. She noted that without the creation of an effective drug, it is impossible to protect the country from the risks of contaminating territories and reducing production due to ASF. She drew attention to the fact that the deadlines for creating this drug are postponed every year, and suggested that the Ministry of Education and Science and the Russian Academy of Sciences put an end to this matter, ensuring the development and implementation of an effective vaccine by 2024.

Director of the Federal Research Center for Virology and Microbiology, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, Professor Denis Kolbasov said that ASF is an important problem for the pig industry in Russia. He noted that a safe and effective vaccine would reduce the cost to the industry associated with the costs of slaughtering infected animals and quarantine, and protect breeding stock, as well as animals in areas with an unfavorable epidemiological situation for ASF.

Many countries around the world are conducting research aimed at developing vaccines for the prevention of ASF in domestic pigs and wild boars. Despite the many approaches proposed, the most promising vaccine candidates right now are live attenuated strains of the ASF virus (attenuated but alive), Kolbasov said. They are obtained as a result of natural attenuation in nature, repeated passaging in cell culture, or by targeted deletion of virulence genes. Kolbasov noted that pigs immunized with live attenuated strains of the virus are usually protected from developing clinical signs and/or death after infection with a genetically and antigenically related variant of the ASF virus.

He added that live attenuated viruses often induce high levels of protection when challenged with homologous ASF viruses, but they may retain some residual virulence in some immunized animals. “This could lead to some proportion of vaccinated animals with chronic lesions. This problem of residual virulence is common to attenuated strains that have been used as vaccine candidates,” the expert said.

The candidate vaccine strain received by the center is also based on a live attenuated strain of the virus, which can protect domestic pigs from the circulating variant of the ASF virus, Kolbasov explained. “In our studies, we primarily considered the protective potential of candidate strains. However, these studies should be supplemented with larger ones, it is necessary to study the residual virulence of the proposed strain, the likelihood of developing a chronic form of the disease after vaccination and control infection with a virulent strain. And, if necessary, to conduct additional studies aimed at reducing the residual virulence of the candidate strain,” he said.

In addition, Kolbasov noted that for the production of a vaccine, it is necessary to use a well-characterized cell line that is susceptible to a candidate strain of the ASF virus. Research to find a suitable cell system for the accumulation of viral material also remains to be done. “In this regard, it is difficult to give an exact date for the completion of research and the start of mass production of an ASF vaccine. Now, despite a number of successes, there are still many questions that should be answered in the future,” Kolbasov concluded.

In April, the Ministry of Agriculture reported that unscheduled inspections of enterprises had resumed in Russia due to the spread of ASF. They explained that the situation with the disease in the country remains tense, the virus circulates among wild animals, while many farms have a low level of biological protection. Director General of the National Union of Pig Breeders (NSS) Yuri Kovalev then said that the situation with ASF in Russia is really tense, but is under complete control. According to him, the current checks are just preventive work. Commenting on the creation of a new vaccine, Kovalev noted that this is an important step, but there is still a huge layer of work ahead. “The final conclusion about the possibility and expediency of application in industrial pig breeding is still very far away,” the expert believes.

Meanwhile, the Rusagro press service reported that the ASF virus was detected at one of the company's six pig farms in Primorsky Krai. In the near future, all animals housed in the infected pig farm will be disposed of, and the site itself will be cleaned. It is clarified that the pig complexes are built in the format of monoblocks with a closed cycle, which guarantees the localization of the disease inside them.

All other sites of the company are working according to plan, but they have been transferred to an enhanced security mode. “One of the main prerequisites for this situation is the natural foci of ASF in the wild boar population and the lack of biosecurity in private farms. An investigation is underway into the reasons for the penetration of the ASF virus into the pig farm together with the veterinary services of the region,” Rusagro said in a statement. The company estimates possible losses in the production and sale of pork as insignificant, since the livestock of the site is insured.