Novel Vaccine Effectively Prevents Infection of African Swine Fever Virus

African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) infection poses a serious threat to the global pig industry. It is listed as a reportable animal disease by the World Organization for Animal Health and categorized as a  Class A  zoonosis by Chinese government. There is an urgent need to develop a safe and effective vaccine for the prevention and control of ASFV.

Scientists from Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH) of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Guangzhou nBiomed Ltd. jointly developed a novel adenovirus-vectored ASFV (Ad2-ASFV) vaccine and vaccination regimen, which  is highly effective in protecting farmed pigs against ASFV strains.

The study was published online in Emerging Microbes & Infections.

Scientists screened nine different types of adenovirus vectors and found that human type 2 replication-defective adenoviruses can efficiently deliver genes into pig-derived cells. Based on this vector, they constructed a Ad2-ASFV vaccine delivering multiple antigens.

Mice and swine, vaccinated with the Ad2-ASFV vaccine through simultaneous intramuscular and intranasal administration, exhibited strong systemic antibody, cellular and mucosal immune responses against AFSV. Moreover, this vaccine provided complete protection for field pigs against circulating ASFV, whereas unvaccinated pigs were all infected with ASFV (Fig. 1). 

Notably, the  Ad2-ASFV vaccine demonstrated good safety. No adverse reactions were observed after vaccination.

This study sheds light on a new generation of safe and effective ASFV vaccines and suggests that inducing mucosal immunity can be a new direction for the development of ASFV vaccines.

Fig. 1 The Ad2-ASFV vaccine robustly elicited specific antibody, cellular, and mucosal immune responses in pigs and provided complete protection against circulating ASFV strain in farmed pigs.（Image by GIBH）

Contact: 

CHEN Ling, Ph.D., Principal Investigator;

LI Pingchao, Ph.D.

Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Guangzhou, China, 510530

Email: chen_ling@gibh.ac.cn; li_pingchao@gibh.ac.cn