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ASF vaccine implementation could be a challenge
A leading swine veterinarian says there is promising progress on a couple of African Swine Fever vaccines in the works but developing the vaccine isn’t the only challenge.
Dr. Clayton Johnson with Carthage Veterinary Services tells Brownfield clinical trials and vaccine approval studies are in progress, but vaccine acceptance is another hurdle when one is developed.
“Just because there’s a vaccine available, doesn’t meant that United States producers are going to want to use it or even be allowed to use it,” Johnson said. “And so, a lot of those details still have to be worked out of if we get a vaccine available, you know, who uses it when, under what strategies.”
He said it’s unlikely there is a licensed vaccine available to producers in the next year…
“But on the technical side of development of ASF vaccines, it does look like there is excellent reason for hope and optimism that we’re going to be able to develop good vaccine tools for that virus in the future,” he said.
Johnson said in the meantime, the virus must be kept out of the U.S. at all costs fearing devastating impacts on trade.
Brownfield spoke with Johnson after he updated Missouri pork producers on ASF and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome at the recent Missouri Pork Swine Institute.
