Progress Made In Fight Against AHS

[Wandering Eyes]

The International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC) has announced that progress has been made towards the identification of a new vaccine for African Horse Sickness (AHS). In conjunction with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), an IHSC working group has identified a vaccine candidate, classified as an inactivated multivalent DIVA AHS vaccine. The preliminary view of the IHSC group is that the vaccine candidate has the potential to be safe and efficacious, and may be used in endemic situations, as well as in outbreak situations in all ages and physiological groups. The working group has also assessed the potential market for a new vaccine and prepared a roadmap for the development of a vaccine. That roadmap proposes steps for the progression of the vaccine candidate’s development through to commercial production and effective future use. It is noted that the roadmap includes provision for a challenge study, which is considered as a necessary next step in order to demonstrate the ability of the vaccine candidate’s effectiveness against all nine AHS serotypes, and which will support regulatory registration of the vaccine.

Upon announcing the news, Louis Romanet, chairrman of the IHSC said, “The IHSC believes that the development and production of a new AHS vaccine will be a major achievement, and will deliver a far-reaching positive impact on horse sports around the world. The FEI and the IFHA have invested significant time and resources to assist with the development of an AHS vaccine to this point. We now look forward to working with the industry, particularly in South Africa, in order to seek to prove up the vaccine candidate, and hopefully work through to development, production and widespread use. That will require more investment and time. However, we are confident that a new vaccine would be transformative for horse movements in and out of South Africa, which have been impacted by African Horse Sickness for too long.”

 

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