Novel Methods for Propagating Viral Strains in Cell Culture

Deadline: 2020-02-17
Award: $30,000
Open to: Everyone*

ASFv is emerging as a serious global disease threat for domestic and wild pigs. In the past decade, the disease has been reported in countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe. The virus can be spread via direct contact with infected animals (alive and dead), contaminated feed, and objects that have touched infected animals. Although ASFv is not a risk to human health or food safety, people will be impacted by rising pork prices as a result of the recent outbreak in China that has killed millions of pigs. Vaccine development is hindered by the genetic variation and antigenic diversity exhibited by different strains of ASFv. To investigate viral infectivity, the Seeker desires protocols to identify host factors required for viral growth and permissivity in immortalized cell cultures.