Michelle McMullen
21 Nov 2024
Dr. Qiang Liu and his team are developing cost-effective solutions to protect Canadian piglets from this deadly virus.
Dr. Qiang Liu, a principal scientist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan, is leading a project to address the threat of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv). This virus, which primarily affects newborn piglets, can result in mortality rates of up to 100%, causing significant losses in the swine industry.
Dr. Liu’s team is developing a multivalent vaccine designed to protect against multiple strains of PEDv. The first-generation inactivated vaccine, developed by VIDO in 2015, showed promise but was limited by high production costs. Now, with support from the Swine Cluster 4 program and partnerships with pork producers, VIDO aims to reduce costs and improve effectiveness, making the vaccine more accessible across Canada.
The research project has two main objectives: optimizing the first-generation inactivated vaccine and developing a new subunit vaccine that targets multiple PEDv strains. Similar to COVID-19, PEDv is a mutating coronavirus, which makes it important for vaccines to offer protection against multiple strains.
By creating a subunit vaccine that includes immunogens from different PEDv genogroups, Dr. Liu’s team hopes to offer broader protection. Additionally, VIDO’s new vaccine production centre will allow for faster manufacturing and distribution of these vaccines, ensuring that Canadian pork producers have the tools they need to protect their herds.
“This project will optimize a previously developed inactivated vaccine and develop a new subunit vaccine effective for multiple PED strains. We hope this will ensure that Canadian pork producers will have an effective vaccine to prevent outbreaks of PEDv in their farms.”
-Dr. Qiang Liu
For more information, please check out the project factsheet by clicking here.