Peru, which is home to the world¡¯s largest population of alpacas, hopes to develop a vaccine to prevent and control acute forms of the disease in the animals.
Many young alpacas succumb to Pasteurella multocida pneumonia and, according to Abelardo Lenin Maturrano Hern¨¢ndez, until now ¡°there is no research on a specific vaccine to combat the effects of this disease in alpacas¡±.
Dr Hern¨¢ndez is the research project coordinator of a programme based at the National University of San Marcos, and partly funded by Peru¡¯s production ministry through its Innovate Peru Program, which aims to develop the vaccine for young and baby alpacas.
¡°We produced a complete genome sequence of Pasteurella multocida to develop an effective solution against pneumonia in alpacas,¡± explained Dr Hern¨¢ndez, and then ¡°initiated a search for virulence and/or pathogenicity factors that would act as immunogens¡±.
By using ¡°reverse vaccinology techniques¡±, they were able to create a recombinant vaccine designed to bolster alpacas¡¯ defences against bacterial pathogens causing the respiratory illness.
Register to continue
Why register?
- Registration is free and only takes a moment
- Once registered, you can read 3 articles a month
- Sign up for our newsletter
Subscribe
Or subscribe for unlimited access to:
- Unlimited access to news, views, insights & reviews
- Digital editions
- Digital access to °Õ±á·¡¡¯²õ university and college rankings analysis
Already registered or a current subscriber?
