Merck, Utrecht University to research pig virus vaccine

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Merck, Utrecht University to research pig virus vaccine

By Meredith Davis CHICAGO (Reuters) - Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., entered into a 12-month research agreement with Utrecht University to develop a vaccine for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv), a deadly pig virus spreading across the U.S. farm belt, the company said. The highly contagious pig virus, which does not affect humans, has been seen in Europe and Asia, but was first discovered in the United States in April 2013 and has spread to 23 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. "Vaccine development on PEDv has been hampered by the difficulty of growing the virus in cell culture and, until very recently, by the lack of tools for its genetic manipulation," Peter Rottier, a scientist at the Netherlands' Utrecht University said in a statement.

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