The USDA awarded WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine an $800,000 grant for a research study on the tick-borne pathogen Anaplasma marginale.
The goal of the study is to create a new vaccine for Anaplasma marginale, a tick-borne pathogen that costs the cattle industry nearly $300 million in loss annually, according to WSU Insider.
The research project is led by professor Kelly Brayton of the College of Veterinary Medicine. According to Brayton, the overall goal of the project is to create a more efficient multi-pathogen vaccine that is effective against all strains of Anaplasma marginale, is easily accessible to many regions and does not require cold storage.
“Anaplasma has essentially a worldwide distribution, it infects cattle and causes the animals to be ill. Estimates from 20 years ago have indicated just in the U.S. Anaplasma costs around $300 million a year,” Brayton said. “The cost is in the billions of dollars worldwide.”
According to WSU Insider, the research team plans to create this new vaccine by approaching it as a DNA vaccination, meaning the vaccine itself carries the Anaplasma antigens and is injected directly into the animal, triggering an auto-immune response.
The DNA vaccine the team is working on aims to protect against all strains of Anaplasma with their use of multiple antigens, which is essential to creating an effective vaccine, said Susan Noh, a research veterinary medical officer working closely with Brayton.
“Anaplasma is an insidious problem, and the impact varies from situation to situation. But here in the U.S., [the new vaccine] would reduce death, and it would decrease the need for the use of antibiotics,” Noh said.
For assistance in creating the vaccine, the research group was awarded a $800,000 grant from the USDA.
“It was a competitive grant through NIFA…I had written this grant a number of years ago, and I just wanted to give it a try,” Brayton said. “I pulled it out and restructured it a bit and submitted it to USDA, and they chose to fund it.”
According to Noh, the USDA works closely with WSU’s Veterinary College for Anaplasma research, and the two groups share ideas and facilities.
WSU’s USDA aid office, including offices and labs, is located within the university, which makes collaboration a lot more fluid, Noh said.
“Really what we’re going for is a solid vaccine, less bovine anaplasmosis, and healthier animals,” Noh said.
