The Potential of mRNA Vaccines to Combat African Swine Fever: A Breakthrough or a Challenge?

According to a team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), mRNA vaccines could be a real breakthrough in the fight against African swine fever (ASF ). Their main advantage is the use of genetic fragments of the virus to activate the immune response, reducing the risk of mutations and the emergence of pathogenic forms. Preliminary results suggest that mRNA vaccines can provide a stronger and more long-lasting immune response than traditional vaccines.

Professor Jianzhu Cheng of MIT emphasizes that to protect against ASF, it is important to activate both T-cell and humoral immune responses, as T-cells play a key role in killing infected cells.

Furthermore, mRNA vaccines are expected to be cheaper to produce than traditional vaccines due to their faster adaptation to new virus strains. However, numerous scientific and economic hurdles must be overcome to reach the market, including expensive and complex trials on pigs. Nevertheless, the development of this technology could significantly improve pig protection against ASF and reduce vaccine costs in the future. Research in this area is ongoing, and significant breakthroughs are expected in the coming years.