Boehringer Ingelheim will create and maintain frozen vaccine antigen concentrate of FMD for creating the vaccine
Boehringer Ingelheim selected by USDA to supply vaccine bank. (Credit: Pixabay/Mabel Amber.)
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded a contract to Boehringer Ingelheim to help supply a vaccine bank to protect livestock in the country from foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease.
As part of the contract, Boehringer Ingelheim will create and maintain a strategic reserve of frozen vaccine antigen concentrate that will be used to quickly formulate a vaccine against (FMD) disease in the event of an outbreak in the country.
The National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank, commonly known as the US vaccine bank, will help the country in stockpiling veterinary vaccines and other materials to be used in the event of an outbreak of high-impact foreign animal disease.
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA president Everett Hoekstra said: “Boehringer Ingelheim has proudly supported the U.S. livestock industry for decades as a leader in animal vaccine technology.
“Infectious animal diseases can disrupt our food supply, and governments make significant investments to help prevent and prepare for such events.”
FMD affects cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and other animals
Boehringer Ingelheim said that FMD is a highly contagious viral disease that can affect cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and other animals with divided hooves. FMD does not affect people.
The company stated that the US eradicated FMD in 1929 and believes that an outbreak could devastate the livestock industry and, consequently, national food supply, if left unchecked.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will be responsible for overseeing the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank.
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health US livestock business vice president Steve Boren said: “As a global leader in the storage and management of FMD vaccine banks, with FMD expertise dating back more than 70 years, Boehringer Ingelheim constantly monitors emerging disease threats.”