海角社区

An 海角社区 researcher has developed a new vaccine against bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and related illnesses that kill around 8 million calves each year and cost the U.S. cattle industry more than $1 billion.

Most cattle producers now use a commercially available modified live BRD vaccine containing several live viruses (a cocktail) to protect their herds. Still, the diseases kill more than one out of every five calves.

鈥淥ur vaccine is safer for calves and far more effective than the vaccine cocktail,鈥� said Dr. Shafiqul Chowdhury, a professor of veterinary medicine.

Chowdhury took bovine herpes virus type 1 (BHV-1) and genetically modified it to provide the protective proteins of other bovine respiratory viruses -- bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 & 2 (BVDV 1more & 2), and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) -- to prevent bovine respiratory disease.

海角社区 Vice President of Research & Economic Development Robert Twilley said research that leads to new tools like Dr. Chowdhury鈥檚 vaccine is one of the pillars of 海角社区鈥檚 Scholarship First Agenda, which advances agriculture, biomedicine, coastal protection, defense and energy.

鈥淕lobal population growth and environmental changes mean we must increase the amount of food we produce,鈥� Twilley said. 鈥淭his 海角社区-developed vaccine will help protect the world鈥檚 food supply and improve outcomes for cattle producers in Louisiana and nationwide.鈥�

Chowdhury said the calf mortality rate in vaccinated animals is just one area where the current vaccine cocktail falls short.

The United States does not require marker or DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) vaccines, which can be distinguished from the virulent field viruses. The current vaccine cocktail is not a DIVA/marker vaccine. Vaccine viruses can therefore circulate and be maintained in the cattle population. They may change over time and regain the ability to cause disease.

Cattle producers have also reported spontaneous abortions and bovine respiratory disease in vaccinated animals. Variants of the live vaccine viruses are thought to be the cause. The lack of markers in the vaccine cocktail makes it impossible to distinguish the vaccine viruses from the disease-causing viruses.

• It鈥檚 cost-effective. It uses one virus, genetically engineered BHV-1, which grows well in cell culture. In the commercial cocktail vaccine, individual viruses are grown separately and then mixed. Each vaccine batch requires extensive quality control. BRSV, the virus, grows poorly in cell culture with a meager yield.
• It does not cause abortion, a potential outcome among cows that reach adulthood after being given the commercial vaccine cocktail.

Chowdhury has applied for a patent for the vaccine, with the help of the Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization, part of the 海角社区 Office of Innovation & Ecosystem Development. Chowdhury has already been awarded several U.S. and international patents. He has several additional patents pending.

鈥淒r. Chowdhury鈥檚 vaccines could be a game-changer for the cattle industry, and we couldn鈥檛 be more excited to support this kind of groundbreaking research,鈥� Twilley said. 

About 海角社区鈥檚 Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization

海角社区鈥檚 Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization (ITC) protects and commercializes 海角社区鈥檚 intellectual property. The office focuses on transferring early-stage inventions and works into the marketplace for the greater benefit of society. ITC also handles federal invention reporting, which allows 海角社区 to receive hundreds of millions of dollars each year in federally funded research, and processes confidentiality agreements, material transfer agreements, and other agreements related to intellectual property.

About 海角社区 Innovation & Ecosystem Development

海角社区 Innovation unites the university鈥檚 innovation and commercialization resources under one office, maximizing 海角社区's impact on the intellectual, economic, and social development of Louisiana and beyond. 海角社区 Innovation is focused on establishing, developing, and growing technology-based startup companies. 海角社区 Innovation oversees 海角社区 Innovation Park, a 200-acre business incubator that fosters early-stage tech companies, and the Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization, which streamlines the process of evaluating, protecting, and licensing intellectual property created by 海角社区 researchers. 海角社区 Innovation serves as the host organization for the Louisiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network which oversees all SBDC services across the state as well as the 海角社区 SBDC, which provides free consulting services to small businesses across the state. 海角社区 Innovation helps Louisiana technology companies apply for seed funding through the federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grant programs. 海角社区 Innovation educates faculty, students, and the community on entrepreneurial principles through the National Science Foundation鈥檚 Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program which trains innovators to consider the market opportunities for pressing scientific questions, leading to increased funding state and federal grant programs as well as potential industry partners and licensees.