Washington, DC — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is researching vaccines that could protect pigs against a deadly viral disease.
African Swine Fever hasn’t been found in America, but was detected last year in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. No commercial vaccine is available. During a recent visit to Iowa, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said there’s progress on a potential vaccine for pigs.
Vilsack says the USDA hopes to open a facility in Manhattan, Kansas in 2024 where it can research and develop animal vaccines. Vilsack says the agency has been doing a lot of this work in New York, but that would move to the lab in Kansas, which could open in 2024.
Vilsack says the agency will study animal diseases that could come from another country and animal diseases that could infect humans.
