Stay updated with breaking news from Manuel Borca. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
A new vaccine developed in the US could offer full protection against African swine fever as the disease continues to devastate herds in parts of Europe & Asia.
ASF vaccine production no longer has to rely on live pigs and their fresh cells. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) announced May 7 that an African swine fever (ASF) vaccine candidate has been adapted to grow in a cell line, which means that those involved in vaccine production will no longer have to rely on live pigs and their fresh cells for vaccine production. “This opens the door for large-scale vaccine production, which is a valuable tool for the possible eradication of the virus,” said senior ARS scientist Dr. Manuel Borca. ASF is known ...
NBAF discusses foreign disease research unit The National Bio and Agro Defense Facility in Manhattan be home to several different research units. One of the units that will be housed inside the facility will be the Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit which is currently housed at Plum Island. Dr. Luis Rodriguez, research leader of the unit, talks more about the responsibilities of his team. “To protect US agricultural assets and keep our food supply safe and our $1.5 trillion agricultural industry and food-related industry protected from these foreign animal diseases,” Rodriguez say...
Jan 22, 2021 Initial research in the U.S. on African swine fever started in the 1970s when the viral disease was spreading through Spain and Portugal. In the 1990s, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service started looking for a vaccine. After years of work, sometimes was a bit sporadic due to funding, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that it has a new vaccine for African swine fever that is headed toward commercialization. What potential might it have for the hog industry? Feedstuffs' Krissa Welshans catch up with USDA researchers Dr. Douglas Gladue and Dr. Manuel Borca t...
ARS Office of Communications Agricultural Research Service scientists at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) in Orient Point, N.Y., have made two important advancements against African swine fever virus (ASFV), which causes a lethal disease in pigs. Last year, the research team developed several vaccine candidates by deleting genes to attenuate (weaken) the virus. They used a technique called “gene editing” in which DNA can be directly inserted, deleted, modified, or replaced in the genome of a living organism. As a result of this research, the team has currently licensed four d...