** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** AFRICAN SWINE FEVER (ASF) IS A FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE, WHICH IS WIDESPREAD IN EUROPE AND ASIA, AND REMAINS ONE OF THE LARGEST THREATS TO PORK PRODUCTION WORLDWIDE. TO DATE, THERE ARE NO VACCINES OR TREATMENTS ON THE MARKET, AND THE ONLY WAY TO CONTROL ASF IS TO KILL INFECTED ANIMALS AND, SOMETIMES, THE ENTIRE HERD FROM WHICH THEY CAME. THE ASF PANDEMIC RECENTLY REACHED THE ISLAND OF HISPANIOLA, ON THE U.S. DOORSTEP, INCREASING THE RISK OF ASF REACHING U.S. SOIL.AN ASF OUTBREAK IN THE U.S. WOULD HAVE AN ESTIMATED IMPACT OF $15-50 BILLION IN LOSSES FROM PORK PRODUCTS, EXPORT MARKETS, JOBS, AND RECOVERY COSTS. THERE IS A HIGH PRIORITY TO DEVELOP ASF VACCINES AND DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS TO REDUCE THE ASF THREAT TO THE U.S. AN ASF VACCINE DEVELOPED AT THE USDA (ASFV-G-DELTA-I177L) IS CURRENTLY BEING TESTED IN VIETNAM AND MAY END UP ON THE GLOBAL MARKET. HOWEVER, ASF VACCINATED ANIMALS CANNOT BE DIAGNOSED BY STANDARD ASF TESTS; RATHER, A TEST THAT CAN DIFFERENTIATE INFECTED FROM VACCINATED ANIMALS(DIVA TEST) IS NECESSARY TO AVOID MISDIAGNOSING VACCINATED ANIMALS. OUR PROJECT GOALS ARE TO DEVELOP THIS CRITICAL ASF DIVA TEST AND DEVELOP TOOLS FOR ASF RESEARCH. OUR OBJECTIVES INCLUDE DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING TWO IMMUNOASSAYS, BASED ON AN ENZYME LINKED IMMUNO-SORBENT ASSAY (ELISA) PLATFORM, AND DEVELOPING ASF MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES THAT CAN BE USED TO STUDY THE ASF VIRUS. WE PREVIOUSLY INITIATED DEVELOPMENT OF ASF ELISAS AND ANTIBODIES WITH A SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATIVE RESEARCH (SBIR I) GRANT FROM THE USDA. HOWEVER, OUR SBIR RESEARCH ONLY ESTABLISHED PROOF-OF-CONCEPT WORK AND FIRST-GENERATION RESEARCH TOOLS. THIS PROJECT WILL EXTEND BEYOND PREVIOUS WORK IN ORDER TO FURTHER DEVELOP, OPTIMIZE, AND VALIDATE THESE TOOLS FOR USE IN COMMERCIAL AND RESEARCH SETTINGS. THE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE PORK INDUSTRY AND U.S. BIOSECURITY BY IMPROVING ASF DISEASE MANAGEMENT, AND THE ASF ANTIBODIES CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE ASF DISEASE AND VIRUS RESEARCH.WE HAVE PROPOSED NEW RESEARCH STRATEGIES TO GO BEYOND OUR PREVIOUS WORK, INCLUDING USE OF ALTERNATIVE LABORATORY METHODS TO PRODUCE AND PURIFY ASF PROTEINS, WHICH ARE USED IN ELISA AND ANTIBODY DEVELOPMENT. WE WILL DEVELOP NEW FORMULATIONS THAT AFFECT ELISA BIOCHEMISTRY AND IMPACT DIAGNOSTIC PERFORMANCE, AND WE WILL DEVELOP AN ADDITIONAL ASSAY FORMAT CALLED A BLOCKING ELISA (BELISA). WE HAVE EXPANDED OUR MULTI-REGIONAL NETWORK FOR THIS PROJECT, WHICH WILL SUPPORT EXTENSIVE ELISA VALIDATION IN ACADEMIC, GOVERNMENT, AND BIOSECURITY LABORATORIES IN NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, ASIA, AND AFRICA. THROUGH OUR NETWORK, WE WILL EVALUATE OVER 5000 SAMPLES WITH OUR ASF DIVA TEST. THIS WILL PROVIDE VALIDATION OF DIAGNOSTIC PERFORMANCE TO SUPPORT COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE DIVA TEST. WE WILL ALSO DISTRIBUTE ASF ANTIBODIES TO FOUR COLLABORATING LABS THAT WILL CONDUCT BASIC ASF RESEARCH AND EVALUATE DIFFERENT RESEARCH APPLICATIONS FOR THE ASF ANTIBODIES. THE RESULTS OF THEIR STUDIES WILL REFLECT THE,PRACTICAL USES FOR ASF ANTIBODIES, WHICH CAN BE DISSEMINATED TO THE BROADER ASF RESEARCH COMMUNITY.$800,000
· FY2023 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture