Researchers see promise in mRNA vaccines for ASF

While more conventional ASF vaccines are increasingly available, researchers say developing an mRNA vaccine could come with additional benefits.

Emma Penrod
August 1, 2025
Veterinarian administering injection to pig in straw-covered farm environment
vchal | BigStock.com

An mRNA-based vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) could be more effective — and potentially cheaper — than the conventional vaccines entering the market, according to a research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The group has identified targets on the virus that could be used to create an mRNA vaccine, a technology that uses genetic components of the targeted virus, rather than the whole virus itself, to trigger immune defenses.

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