African Swine Fever: Vaccine Advancement and Major Gaps
Abstract
1. Overview of ASF and ASFV
2. ASF Vaccine Development
2.1. Protective Antigen-Based ASF Vaccines: Subunit, Vectored, and DNA/mRNA
| Vaccine Type | Antigen/Gene (ASFV Source) | Humoral Response | Cellular Response | Survival Rate (Challenge Strain) | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specific Antibodies | Neutralizing Antibodies | ||||||
| Subunit (protein) | CD2v (E75CV1) | Yes | NT | NT | 100%, n = 3/3 (E75) | [43] | |
| p30 + p54 (E70) | Yes | Yes | NT | 50%, n = 3/6 (E75) | [44] | ||
| Chimeric p30/p54 (E75) | Yes | Yes | NT | 100%, n = 2/2 (E75) | [45] | ||
| p22 + p30 + p54 + p72 (Pr4) | Yes | Yes | NT | 0%, n = 0/6 (Pr4) | [46] | ||
| Adenovirus-vectored | CP204L + E183L + CP530R + B646L (Georgia 2007/1) | Yes | NT | Yes | NT | [48,49,50] | |
| A151R + B119L + B602L + EP402RΔPRR + B438R + K205R-A104R (Georgia 2007/1) | Yes | NT | Yes | NT | [49] | ||
| B646L + CP204L + CP2475L + CP530R + E183L (Georgia 2007/1) | Yes | NT | Yes | 55.5%, n = 5/9 (Georgia 2007/1) | [50] | ||
| B602L + E183L + E199L + EP153R + F317L + MGF505-5R (OUR/T88/3 and Benin 1997/1) | Yes | NT | Yes | 80%, n = 4/5 (OUR T1988/1) | [51] | ||
| Baculovirus-vectored | Fusion sHA/E183L/CP204L (E75) | No | NT | Yes | 66.7%, n = 4/6 (E75) | [52] | |
| Recombinant vaccinia-vectored | EP402R + B646L + B602L + D117L + H240R + B438L + E183L + CP204L (Pig/HLJ/2018) | Yes | NT | Yes | 66.7%, n = 4/6 (HLJ/18) | [53] | |
| Newcastle disease virus-vectored | B602L + EP84R + KP177R + B646L (ASFV-SY18) | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0%, n = 0/4 (ASFV-SY18) | [54] | |
| Pseudorabies virus-vectored | B646L + B602L (PIG/HLJ/2018) | Yes | NT | NT | NT | [55] | |
| Lactococcus lactis-vectored | CP204L + E183L + B646L (BA71V and VNUA Hanoi-ASF9 and Spencer) | Yes | NT | Yes | NT | [56] | |
| Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium-vectored | B119L + EP402R + EP153R + O61 + E183L + B464L (Genotype II ASFV) | Yes | NT | Yes | NT | [57] | |
| Saccharomyces cerevisiae-vectored | KP177R + E183L + E199L + CP204L + E248R + EP402R + B602L + B646L (Pig/HLJ/2018) | Yes | NT | Yes | NT | [58] | |
| DNA | CP204L/E183Lfusion (E75) | No | NT | No | 0%, n = 0/4 (E75) | [59] | |
| sHA + CP204L + E183L (E75) | Yes | No | Yes | 0%, n = 0/6 (E75) | [60] | ||
| Ub + sHA + CP204L + E183L (E75) | Yes | No | Yes | 33%, n = 2/6 (E75) | [60] | ||
| Library spanning about 76% of the genome (Ba71V) | No | NT | Yes | 60%, n = 6/10 (E75) | [61] | ||
| mRNA | B602L + EP402R + EP153R + CP204L + E183L + B646L (Pig/HLJ/2018) | Yes | NT | Yes | NT | [62] | |
| Prime-boost | rAdenovirus, rMVA | B602L + B646L + CP204L + E183L + E199L + EP153R + F317L + MGF505-5R (OUR/T88/3 and Benin 1997/1) | Yes | NT | Yes | 100%, n = 6/6 (OUR/T88/1) | [64] |
| DNA, rVACV | 47 ASFV antigen genes (Georgia 2007/1) | Yes | No | Yes | 0%, n = 0/6 (Georgia 2007/1) | [65] | |
| DNA, Protein | DNA (EP402R + B646L + CP204L +/− D 117L), protein (p15, p35, p54, +/− p17) (Ba71V and E70) | Yes | No | Yes | 0%, n = 0/5 (Armenia 2007) | [66] | |
| Protein/rMVA, Protein/rMVA | rMVA: B646L + EP153R + EP402R; Protein: p72 + CD2v + C-type lectin (Georgia 2007/1) | Yes | NT | Yes | NT | [67] | |
| Alphavirus, LAV | CP204L (Ba71V) + OURT88/3 | Yes | Yes | NT | NT | [68] | |
| DNA, LAV | M448R + MGF505-7R (Georgia2007/1) + BA71∆CD2 | Yes | NT | Yes | 60%, n = 3/5 (Georgia2007/1) | [69] | |
2.2. Prime-Boost Vaccination with Different Vaccine Platforms
2.3. ASF Live Attenuated Virus (LAV) Vaccine
3. Current Challenges in ASF Vaccine Development
- (i)
- Incomplete understanding of protective immunity
- (ii)
- Limited knowledge of viral immune evasion mechanisms
- (iii)
- Uncertainty in antigen prioritization
- (iv)
- Viral diversity, emergence of recombinant variants, and gaps in cross-protection
- (v)
- Safety and DIVA concerns with LAV vaccines
- (vi)
- Lack of harmonized standards for vaccine evaluation
4. Future Perspectives
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| Vaccine Type | Mechanism to Induce Immune Responses | Advantages | Limitations | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inactivated | Killed virus with adjuvants | Safe, no risk of disease from vaccine | Weak humoral and cellular responses, fail to produce long-lasting immune response and adequate protection, lack DIVA ability | Currently, not a focus |
| Subunit | ASFV protective antigen with adjuvants | Safe, targeted immune response, DIVA capability | Requires adjuvants, need to identify specific protective antigens, may require multiple doses | In development |
| Viral vector | ASFV protective antigen | Safe, targeted immune response, DIVA capability, single dose possible | Potential pre-existing immunity to vector, need to identify specific protective antigens | In development |
| DNA | ASFV protective antigen | Safe, targeted immune responses, DIVA capability | May require multiple doses, need to identify specific protective antigens | In development |
| mRNA | ASFV protective antigen | Safe, targeted immune responses, DIVA capability | Requires cold storage, need to identify specific protective antigens | In development |
| Live attenuated | Weaked virus | Strong immune responses (humoral and cellular) and superior efficacy, single lower dose possible | Need stable cell lines for large-scale production, risk of reversion to virulence, risk of recombination, lack DIVA ability, lack cross-protection | In use in restricted area |
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Wang, L.; Shi, J. African Swine Fever: Vaccine Advancement and Major Gaps. Microorganisms 2026, 14, 706. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14030706
Wang L, Shi J. African Swine Fever: Vaccine Advancement and Major Gaps. Microorganisms. 2026; 14(3):706. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14030706
Chicago/Turabian StyleWang, Lihua, and Jishu Shi. 2026. "African Swine Fever: Vaccine Advancement and Major Gaps" Microorganisms 14, no. 3: 706. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14030706
APA StyleWang, L., & Shi, J. (2026). African Swine Fever: Vaccine Advancement and Major Gaps. Microorganisms, 14(3), 706. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14030706

