A decade of collaboration on anti-tick vaccine research between SaBio-IREC-Spain and National Agricultural Research Organization-Uganda

Abstract

These results are the outcome of ten years of collaboration between the Health and Biotechnology (SaBio) group at the Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Spain, and the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Uganda. The collaborative project evolved from initial controlled pen trials using a personalized vaccinology approach to develop an effective Subolesin- based vaccine against multiple cattle tick species, to field trials evaluating the vaccine’s efficacy, effectiveness, and safety. Ultimately, the collaboration led to the successful transfer of vaccine production technology to Uganda. This partnership demonstrates how the challenge of limited access to biotechnological products in Sub-Saharan Africa can be addressed through sustained international cooperation.