Animal quarantine service to develop type-A flu vaccine for pigs

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state animal quarantine service said
Tuesday it plans to develop a type-A influenza vaccine for pigs to protect local
livestock from the fast-spreading disease.

No pig raised here has ever been confirmed infected with the new H1N1 flu strain
but reports of animals getting sick have been reported abroad, the National
Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said.
Type-A flu, which is cited for causing over 3,400 deaths worldwide, has been
confirmed to have broken out at pig farms in Canada, Argentina and Australia. In
South Korea nine people have died after contracting the flu.
"Concerted efforts by experts, businesses and universities should allow the first
usable drug to reach the market by mid 2010," an official said.
South Korea currently has about 7,000 pig farms that raise an average of 9
million animals.
In addition to development of a vaccine for animals, the NVRQS said it will
develop an easy-to-use test kit that can quickly inform farmers and animal health
workers if a pig has contracted type-A influenza.
The kits should be ready by the end of next year and can check for both antigens
and antibodies in the animals.
Measures by the NVRQS come as Seoul is trying to combat the spread of various
diseases among its livestock that can hurt both local consumption and exports.
Controlling the spread of the disease among local pigs can also prevent potential
mutation of the flu virus, which some scientists have claimed could make it more
deadly
yonngong@yna.co.kr