Vaccines To Help Feed World, Says Scientist

One of the world's foremost animal vaccine specialists has been in Belfast to highlight the role vaccine technology plays in maintaining animal health standards on farms - and so enable the world's hungry to be better fed.

"By the time the physical symptoms of disease become apparent, a tremendous amount of damage has already been wreaked on an animal in terms of its production potential," Dr Steve Chu (pictured) told Guild of Agricultural Journalists' members yesterday.

"Consumers want safe, high-quality food - while producers want to maintain the highest animal health and production standards on their farms.

"Vaccines constitute the key link in the animal production chain that can make all of this happen," he continued, noting that Elanco, who recently acquired an Animal Vaccine plant in Sligo, has confirmed its long-term commitment to this technology.

"The challenge, therefore, is that of preventing disease to take hold in the first place. And it is in this context that the use of vaccines will play a crucial role within the various livestock production sectors moving forward," he said.

Dr Chu, who is Distinguished Research Fellow at Elanco Animal Health, noted that the development of new vaccine technologies would be at the heart of the response made by the farming industry when it comes to feeding the world's fast-growing population.

He said that Elanco - a division of Eli Lilly and Company, a leading global pharmaceutical corporation - has a major role to play and explained: "It is in this context that vaccines will play their part," he further explained.

"Elanco has also set up a new vaccine research and development (R&D) team incorporating some of the best talent in the business with excellent track records in vaccine innovation and registrations in the EU and other parts of the world. This team will provide full support to our Sligo plant in the areas of product innovation and new product introductions.

"Additionally this R&D team will seek opportunities to collaborate with partners in Ireland," he explained.

Dr Chu then highlighted the very high animal health status that Northern Ireland has enjoyed for generations.

"Local farmers should be proud of the role they have played in making this possible," he said

"But we live in a world where the relatively free movement of livestock is an everyday occurrence.

"The risk of disease spread, therefore, remains extremely high. Europe's experience with Bluetongue virus and Foot and Mouth over recent years is a case in point. The reality is that diseases do not respect borders."

Northern Ireland's agri food industry exports 80% of its overall output, the vast bulk of which is made up of meat and dairy products: "Ensuring the highest possible animal health status for the industry is of tremendous importance in order to maximise the value of these exports.

"And, again, the increased use of vaccines can play a crucial role in this context," Dr Chu continued.

"Elanco Animal Health is committed to the long-term success of the Sligo plant and to developing new vaccines and associated technologies designed to provide livestock farmers with much more potent weapons in the war against animal disease.

"The EU is a strategically important region for Elanco investment and growth and our Sligo plant is critical to Elanco's vaccine business development in the region.

"The Sligo workforce has outstanding qualities and a depth of experience in vaccine manufacture and is dedicated to providing the best service to the animal health industry in Ireland and rest of EU for many years to come. This is good news for agriculture in Ireland and throughout Europe," he concluded.

(BMcC/KMcA)