New cell line could lead to more reliable vaccine development to fight costly pig virus

The production of autogenous vaccines to fight individual strains of the virus that causes porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome depends on the ability of scientists to isolate the virus, but sometimes that’s a tricky process. A new study from an Iowa State University researcher shows that a new cell line may offer a better alternative to the cell line most commonly used to isolate the PRRS virus. But the vast majority of vaccine producers use the established cell line, and it remains to be seen how readily they might adopt the use of a new one.