A prototype vaccine for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv), developed in less than a year, has the pork industry hopeful for a new best management practice to aid in the fight against the devastating disease.
“This is great news for the swine industry both in Canada and globally, as PEDv continues to threaten unaffected regions and impact areas where it is already present,” said Sask Pork general manager Neil Ketilson.
The vaccine was developed by the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac), in their new Level 3 containment facility.
“Our new facility, InterVac, provided us with the containment infrastructure to develop a vaccine and demonstrate it protected up to 100 per cent of the piglets,” said Volker Gerdts, VIDO-InterVac’s research director, in a press release issued Monday.
Global pharmaceutical company Huvepharma has already partnered with the Centre to develop the technology for commercial production, and the vaccine is now undergoing field testing in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“This is an exciting partnership with a world-class organization,” said Boris Gavrilov, senior scientist for biologics development at Huvepharma. “Our goal is to have the vaccine available for commercial use as soon as possible to help stop producer losses.”
The vaccine was developed through the support of Sask Pork, the Canadian Swine Health Network and the Government of Saskatchewan.
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