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Pathogens
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Advancing Vaccine Strategies and Technologies for Controlling Swine Infectious Diseases
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Advancing Vaccine Strategies and Technologies for Controlling Swine Infectious Diseases

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Vaccines and Therapeutic Developments".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 803

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jishu Shi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center on Biologics Development and Evaluation, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
Interests: porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS); classical swine fever virus (CSF); African swine fever (ASF)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lihua Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center on Biologics Development and Evaluation, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
Interests: porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS); classical swine fever virus (CSF); African swine fever (ASF)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The control of swine infectious diseases is vital for sustainable pork production and global food security. Among vaccine technologies, autogenous vaccines play a critical role in managing bacterial pathogens that cause significant economic losses. These vaccines, tailored to specific farm pathogens, offer rapid, targeted responses to outbreaks, particularly when commercial vaccines fall short due to antigenic variability or emerging strains. The topic of this Special Issue includes the following:

  1.  Advanced diagnostics and sequencing technologies enhance pathogen detection and characterization, ensuring autogenous vaccines are precise and effective; 
  2. Innovations in vaccine adjuvants and delivery systems further improve immune responses, reducing the need for antibiotics and promoting herd health;
  3. Collaborative efforts between swine farms, veterinarians, diagnostic labs, and manufacturers are essential to optimize autogenous vaccine development and deployment.

Prof. Dr. Jishu Shi
Dr. Lihua Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • autogenous vaccines
  • swine infectious diseases
  • adjuvants
  • diagnostics
  • swine veterinarian

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 7381 KB  
Article
Challenges and Opportunities of Bacterial Vaccines as Alternatives to Antimicrobials in Swine Health Management: Insights from U.S. Veterinarians
by Xirui Zhang, Danqin Li, Michael D. Apley, Locke Karriker, Joseph F. Connor, Corinne Bromfield, Jordan T. Gebhardt, Brian Lubbers, Hatem Kittana, Dustin Pendell, Rachel Madera, Nina Muro, Aidan Craig, Brooke Shenkenberg, Yuzhen Li, Lihua Wang and Jishu Shi
Pathogens 2025, 14(11), 1113; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14111113 (registering DOI) - 1 Nov 2025
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant global health concern, and the use of antibiotics in livestock, including swine production, is a major contributor. Vaccines offer a promising alternative for controlling bacterial infections in pigs, but their widespread use is often hindered by biological, [...] Read more.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant global health concern, and the use of antibiotics in livestock, including swine production, is a major contributor. Vaccines offer a promising alternative for controlling bacterial infections in pigs, but their widespread use is often hindered by biological, economic, and practical challenges. This study surveyed U.S. swine veterinarians to identify which bacterial diseases require better vaccines and to understand the barriers to their adoption. Nineteen veterinarians with an average of 24.7 years of experience were surveyed across 21 states. The results identified Streptococcus suis, Escherichia coli, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, and Glaesserella parasuis as the most critical pathogens needing improved vaccines. Veterinarians anticipated significant improvements in vaccine efficacy for S. suis and E. coli during the nursery stage and expressed a willingness to pay 1.8 and 1.9 times their current prices, respectively. While expectations for M. hyo vaccine improvements were not significant, veterinarians expressed the highest willingness to pay (4.2 times the current price), citing the potential for disease eradication. This research highlights that developing effective vaccines for S. suis and E. coli should be the most urgent priority due to their significant economic impact and rising AMR concerns. However, M. hyo vaccine development holds the most economic potential due to the possibility of eradication. Our research provides a roadmap for future efforts to combat AMR in the swine industry, emphasizing key economic, policy, and educational considerations for successful vaccine implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Vaccine Strategies and Technologies for Controlling Swine Infectious Diseases)
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18 pages, 2713 KB  
Article
PRV gD-Based DNA Vaccine Candidates Adjuvanted with cGAS, UniSTING, or IFN-α Enhance Protective Immunity
by Xinqi Shi, Shibo Su, Yongbo Yang, Liang Meng, Wei Yang, Xinyu Qi, Xuyan Xiang, Yandong Tang, Xuehui Cai, Haiwei Wang, Tongqing An and Fandan Meng
Pathogens 2025, 14(10), 1026; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14101026 - 11 Oct 2025
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Abstract
Pseudorabies virus (PRV), a major swine pathogen, causes severe neurological, respiratory, and reproductive disorders, resulting in substantial economic losses to the global swine industry. Previous studies have shown that the gD glycoprotein of PRV has an effective protective effect. In this study, we [...] Read more.
Pseudorabies virus (PRV), a major swine pathogen, causes severe neurological, respiratory, and reproductive disorders, resulting in substantial economic losses to the global swine industry. Previous studies have shown that the gD glycoprotein of PRV has an effective protective effect. In this study, we constructed a plasmid DNA vaccine (pVAX1-GD-Fc) encoding a gD protein fused with pig IgG Fc and evaluated the adjuvant effects of porcine cGAS, the universal STING complex mimic (UniSTING), or IFN-α in mice. The mice were immunized three times (days 0, 14, and 21) with pVAX1-GD-Fc in the presence or absence of an adjuvant, followed by lethal challenge with PRV-HLJ8 3 days after the final immunization. The results revealed that the pVAX1-GD-Fc group exhibited 20% mortality (1/5 mice) on day 7 postchallenge, and all adjuvanted groups achieved 100% survival during the 14-day observation period. Flow cytometric analysis of splenocytes one week after the second immunization revealed significantly greater CD8+ T cell proportions in the adjuvant groups than in both the mock and pVAX1-GD-Fc-only control groups (p < 0.01). Furthermore, T cell proliferation assays demonstrated a significantly increased stimulation index in the adjuvant-treated mice, confirming enhanced cellular immunity. These findings demonstrate that cGAS, UniSTING, and IFN-α can serve as effective vaccine adjuvants to rapidly enhance cellular immune responses to PRV, highlighting their potential application in veterinary vaccines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Vaccine Strategies and Technologies for Controlling Swine Infectious Diseases)
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