Scientists have been awarded significant government funding to develop a vaccine that could halt the development and spread of one of the more common diseases affecting the UK pig population.

Streptococcus suis is a bacterial infection that can cause serious, and often fatal, disease in pigs but can also be transferred to humans working with them.

It has been shown to affect more than 60% of pig farms in a number of countries across Europe, posing challenges for both the pork industry and public health.

At present, there are no proven vaccines addressing the many strains of the disease, with infected pigs being treated using a number of different antibiotics.

However, with the UK Government targeting a 50% reduction in antibiotic use in livestock by 2030 – and a global drive to reduce the threats posed by antimicrobial resistance – an effective vaccine is urgently required.

The new project – led by The Vaccine Group, the University of Plymouth, and the University of Cambridge – aims to deliver that.

It will assess whether a vaccine candidate already shown to be effective against the most common strain of the disease can in fact protect pigs – and thereby prevent transmission to humans – against multiple, if not all, known strains.

The research is being supported by a grant of just over £1million from Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, delivered by Innovate UK.