Article:
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) has announced a significant breakthrough in animal healthcare. They have developed and transferred the technology for Classical Swine Fever (CSF) & Sheep Pox Vaccines to Hester Biosciences, an animal healthcare company. This technology transfer was made possible through Agrinnovate India (AgIn), a state-owned entity that strives to leverage ICAR’s strengths and promotes the proliferation of R&D results by protecting Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), facilitating commercialization, and establishing partnerships at domestic and international levels.
Classical Swine Fever (CSF): Understanding The Disease and the Vaccine
CSF, recognized as hog cholera, poses a considerable threat to pig populations. Globally, it is one of the most economically damaging viral diseases affecting swine. The disease is caused by a pestivirus from the Flaviviridae family, akin to viruses causing bovine viral diarrhea in cattle and border disease in sheep. CSF has a 100% mortality rate.
Until now, CSF was controlled in India using a lapinized CSF vaccine produced by culling large numbers of rabbits, a process which involves the serial passage of a virus or vaccine through rabbits to alter its properties. However, ICAR-IVRI developed a live attenuated Cell Culture CSF Vaccine to forego this somewhat problematic method. This new vaccine can create protective immunity within 14 days of vaccination, lasting upwards to 18 months.
Sheep Pox: Deciphering The Disease and the Vaccine
Sheep Pox is a severe viral disease affecting sheep, with its virus being closely related to capripoxviruses found in goats and the lumpy skin disease virus. Famed for its widespread skin eruptions, this disease, often fatal, is found primarily in southeastern Europe, Africa, and Asia.
ICAR-IVRI has developed a live attenuated Sheep Pox Vaccine for preventive vaccination using an indigenous SPPV Srin 38/00 strain adapted to grow in the Vero cell line. This vaccination process enhances scalability and is efficient and immunogenic for sheep older than six months, offering protection for a period of 40 months.
An Overview of Cell Culture
Cell culture refers to a controlled process of growing cells outside their natural environment under specific conditions of temperature, humidity, and nutrition. Cultured cells serve as excellent hosts for propagating many types of viruses. The capacity of cell culture systems to produce large volumes of attenuated viral particles forms the foundation for producing both human and veterinary vaccines.
Vero Cells: More Than Just Cells
Vero cells, extracted from the kidney epithelial cells of an African green monkey, are used extensively in cell cultures. Their applications range from screening for Escherichia coli toxin, first dubbed “Vero toxin”, to serving as host cells for virus propagation. The Vero cell lineage can be replicated through several division cycles without becoming senescent or aging. These cells are characterized by aneuploidy, or the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes.
Live-attenuated Vaccines: A Lifesaver
Live vaccines employ a weakened form of the germ causing a disease. Due to their close resemblance to the natural infection they seek to prevent, these vaccines elicit a strong and long-lasting immune response. In most cases, just one or two doses can provide lifetime protection against a germ and the disease it causes. However, these vaccines generally cannot be administered to individuals with weakened immune systems. Known applications of live vaccines include protection against measles, mumps, rubella (MMR combined vaccine), rotavirus, and smallpox, among others.
