Overview

• An international team led by USDA’s Plum Island Animal Disease Center and ILRI tested the live-attenuated candidate ASFV-G-ΔI177L against multiple African isolates.
• Vaccinated pigs were fully protected against the homologous strain and showed about 80% survival against a Ghana isolate, but the vaccine failed against strains from Malawi, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda.
• Standard p72 gene typing did not predict outcomes, as viruses with identical p72 sequences, including Georgia2010 and Pret4, produced markedly different protection results.
• USDA scientists propose a classification based on the virus’s full set of protein-coding genes to better align vaccines with regional biotypes, with further experimental validation recommended.
• With no globally licensed ASF vaccine and major economic and food-security risks at stake, the authors call for targeted vaccine development and region-aligned licensing policies.