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Development of ASF vaccine remains elusive

USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach

Representatives from 15 countries are in Ottawa, Canada this week for a global forum on African Swine Fever (ASF).

Among those attending is USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach, who says one of the topics they’ll discuss is development of an ASF vaccine.

“We’re closer to having reliable diagnostic tests, that we can use on farms, than we are to a vaccine,” Ibach says. “A vaccine has been elusive in development.”

Ibach says a lot of effort is being put into developing a vaccine, but there is nothing on the immediate horizon.

“Maybe conferences like the one I’m attending today can bring greater focus worldwide, and greater coordination of effort and sharing of research information, that might help us move the development of a vaccine forward.”

Some U.S. pork industry officials have said that development of an ASF vaccine could be at least 10 years away.

African Swine Fever does not infect humans and is not a food safety issue.

AUDIO: Greg Ibach

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