PigProgress
ESPHM review, day 1: Vaccines and drugs in perspective
Just like many other global events, the European Symposium of Porcine Health Management is held digitally. On 2 consecutive evenings, keynote speakers address current pig health issues live for a global audience. On Wednesday, April 14, veterinary health experts reflected on safety and security of vaccines and drugs.
The first keynote speaker was Lars Larsen, professor of veterinary virology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He zoomed in on modified live vaccines (MLV) and addressed various aspects of these vaccines that may need improvement.
Creation of modified live vaccines
Modified live vaccines, he said, are sometimes made by genetic modification, but most of the time they are created by using a wild-type strain. Attenuation will make the virus much less harmful. Even though MLVs have proved themselves and are very needed, there are some drawbacks to the MLV, Prof Larsen said – and that is all related to the fact that viruses mutate.