Team:UCSC/About
Overview
Vitrum is a project that aims to alleviate world hunger by making an accessible vaccine formulation that protects chickens around the world from Newcastle Disease. Our vaccine will theoretically have the ability to be stored at room temperature, making the vaccine easier to transport and store.
World hunger is a constant and increasing problem that affects over 10% of the world’s population. To alleviate hunger, people in some communities turn to consuming bushmeat. Bushmeat is meat from non-domesticated animals such as local primates. Although bushmeat provides nutrients, there are complications and a lack of education about the types of meat being ingested. When humans consume primate species, there is an increase in the transmission of infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
According to the World Hunger Organization, poverty is the principal cause of hunger around the world. They estimate that 767 million people are living below the international poverty line. In some lower-middle-income countries, the economic struggles are getting worse and are leaving people in a cycle of poverty that is almost impossible to escape from.
Chickens provide a reliable food source and an opportunity to increase economic stability for people around the world. Chickens are relatively low cost and low maintenance compared to other forms of livestock making them the perfect candidate to help people break this vicious cycle of hunger and poverty. Heifer International has reported that their chicken implementation project in Cambodia has increased the average monthly household income from about $107 to $358 and improved families' food provisions from 8 to 11 months.
Newcastle disease is an acute respiratory chicken virus that causes lethargy, diarrhea, and respiratory failure. Newcastle virus is common across the globe with recurring outbreaks usually observed in Africa and Asia. Once one chicken in the flock contracts the virus, it is almost guaranteed that the entire flock will subsequently die or have to be euthanized to stop the spread of disease. The disease is spread from avian feces, respiratory discharge, and the reuse of soil in farms that have had previous outbreaks. There has recently been an increase in the number of Newcastle disease cases in California.
There is currently a vaccine that protects chickens from Newcastle disease. The most commonly used vaccine is the La Sota strain and can be administered in several different ways. Just one immunization is not enough to protect a flock from Newcastle. The flock must be given boosters of the vaccine every three months to maintain immunity.
The cold chain refers to the constant demand for a vaccine to be stored at a certain low-temperature range in order to maintain efficacy. The La Sota Vaccine must be consistently stored between 2-8° celsius. This requires specific shipping and handling parameters as vaccines are transported to many different locations before administration. Each of these locations must have a constant source of power to keep a refrigeration system functioning 24 hours a day. Mini fridges and handheld coolers are sometimes the only form of refrigeration used to keep the vaccine cool and are often unreliable. These obstacles keep the Newcastle vaccine inaccessible to farmers in resource-constrained areas and therefore leave their chicken flocks exposed to the risks of Newcastle disease.
We are working toward increasing the thermostability of a live Newcastle disease vaccine by using intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) from tardigrades. By integrating IDPs with an existing Newcastle disease vaccine, we hypothesize we will maintain its efficacy at higher temperatures to protect the virus. Based on previous research done in the field, we expect the IDPs will surround the virus and provide thermal protection. A thermostable vaccine will give greater access to people around the world who rely on chickens to support them financially and nutritionally.
