Good results for new foot-and-mouth disease vaccine

A new foot-and-mouth disease vaccine developed by US biopharmaceutical firm GenVec and US government scientists has demonstrated "tremendous promise" in trials, says the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

It is the first FMD vaccine to be developed in the US, which has not had an outbreak of the disease since 1929.

Dr Edward B Knipling, administrator at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the USDA, said the vaccine demonstrated effectiveness within seven days, and the tests so far had shown that vaccinated cattle and swine retained immunity for at least 21 days. Scientists expected future studies to show at least six months of immunity....