A single-dose protein-based vaccine could be used if there were an outbreak in Australia. Image: Adobe
SCIENTISTS at the University of Queensland are developing a protein-based vaccine to protect Australia’s beef industry from bare skin disease (LSD).
A collaboration between the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) is developing a single-dose vaccine for the highly contagious viral disease that causes skin nodules and swelling in cattle and buffalo.
Professor Tim Mahony from QAAFI’s Center for Animal Science said LSD would have serious economic and animal welfare consequences if it reached Australia.
“Perhaps, it is more of a risk to Australia than FMD because it is transmitted by insects and ticks and the wind could blow a carrier ashore anywhere on the north coast.
“LSD has spread through China, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia to the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra in recent years,” Professor Mahony said.
“Our aim is to develop a vaccine that could be used if there was an outbreak to help contain the virus and avoid the need to cull livestock.
“Existing LSD vaccines are modified live vaccines that carry risks, including possible reversion to the disease-causing form of the virus and international trading partners rejecting vaccinated animals.”
Professor Mahony’s team hope to have a prototype protein-based vaccine ready for trial later this year based on a single-dose cattle tick vaccine developed by QAAFI a few years ago in collaboration with the Swinburne University of Technology supported by the CRC for Polymer and the Queensland Government
Protein-based vaccines are safe and effective in disease control and are generally acceptable to importers of livestock and meat products.
“Like current immunizations against COVID-19, there is no single-dose mRNA vaccine and where the gathering and climate are complex, multiple-dose technologies for livestock are not easy to use,” said Professor Mahony.
“There are also difficulties in differentiating between infected and vaccinated animals, so we have designed what we believe is a new antigen that will only initiate immune responses in vaccinated animals.
“This could speed the return to disease-free status for trade after an outbreak.”
At the same time, DAF scientists, led by Dr. Beth Fowler, are working on field diagnostics, similar to RAT tests for COVID-19, to allow biosafety authorities to initiate control methods as soon as possible if an outbreak is detected.
“There are no simple, portable on-farm tests or tools available for rapid field diagnosis of LSD,” Dr Fowler said.
Source: University of Qld/QAAFI