Why HDFx, a Stress Protein, May Ameliorate the Pig-Plague Effects of The African Swine Flu Virus (ASFV)

In 1921, Robert Montgomery, working in Kenya, noticed that pigs brought from England quickly developed a contagious pneumonia and rapidly succumbed, and died [1]. When antibodies against African Swine Flu Virus (ASFV) were developed (which promoted swine fever and caused feverish chills),andfailed to promote any protection, scientists concluded that another virus, that later was characterized as ASFV must be responsible for the contagion [2]. Although ASFV is harmless in humans, so far, it can be extremely dangerous in pigs [1]. Infection in pigs usually causes death with a hemorrhagic fever in one week, akin to Ebola and Marburg virus fevers. ASFV has killed hundreds of thousands of pigs in China, The Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Africa, and eastern Europe [3]. It is thought that ASFV will kill about a quarter of the world's pig population over the next few years due to lack of a vaccine. Discovery of a vaccine or a workable ameliorative would aid farmers and the civilian population immensely.