{"id":328902,"date":"2023-02-16T12:34:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T02:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=328902"},"modified":"2025-02-26T15:21:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T05:21:29","slug":"uq-team-develops-jev-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/02\/16\/uq-team-develops-jev-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"UQ Team Develops JEV Vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Vaccinating pigs against JEV will help slow the spread of the disease (Photo: Australian Pork Limited)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

February 16, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

University of Queensland scientists have developed a vaccine for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in pigs to help stop the spread of the disease in Australia.<\/p>\n

The mosquito-borne disease can also severely affect humans but cannot be passed from pigs to people. Pork products are also safe to eat.<\/p>\n

Dr Jody Hobson-Peters, from UQ\u2019s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, said the new vaccine would help keep the virus at bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cJapanese encephalitis virus can cause production problems on pig farms, but more alarmingly it can lead to serious neurological symptoms in humans that are sometimes permanent or fatal,\u201d Dr Hobson-Peters said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen pigs are bitten by virus-carrying mosquitoes the virus is amplified, increasing the risk to people who may be bitten by a mosquito.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy vaccinating pigs and stopping them from contracting the virus, we\u2019ll help stop this pathway to humans \u2013 hopefully saving lives as well as keeping pigs healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

UQ-developed technology was used to make a hybrid version of the Japanese encephalitis virus using a harmless-to-humans, mosquito-only Australian virus called Binjari.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe resulting chimeric \u2013 or hybrid \u2013 virus looks identical to JEV but can only grow in mosquito cells and also happens to be dead in this vaccine, so is very safe to use,\u201d Dr Hobson-Peters said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen injected into pigs \u2013 or other species \u2013 the hybrid virus is recognised as JEV by the immune system which generates antibodies and provides immunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping it will be developed into a JEV vaccine for humans and a version for horses, which can also suffer from JEV-induced neurological symptoms.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The project was supported by Australian Pork Limited, with recent efficacy trials conducted on pigs at the Elizabeth MacArthur Agriculture Institute.<\/p>\n

UQ\u2019s Professor Roy Hall said the vaccine performed extremely well.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than 90 per cent of the young pigs in the trial were protected from JEV infection, and we expect the same in other species like humans and horses,\u201d Professor Hall said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe researchers are now working with veterinary company Treidlia Biovet on manufacturing the vaccine so it can undergo safety trials on a larger scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cPending successful outcomes, we hope to roll the vaccine out commercially later in 2023 \u2013 a fantastic outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Hall said the development of an effective vaccine in Australia was critical as JEV was likely to be here to stay.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis dangerous virus will remain a major health threat to humans, and a big problem to the pig and horse industries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia\u2019s current weather patterns are conducive to its further spread here, so it\u2019s crucial that we have a safe and effective Australian-made vaccine available.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud that Australian science can be at the forefront of tackling this virus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n