The war for our lives is waged behind the closed doors of a bio-secure battlefield, staffed by clinicians and scientists from 30 different countries.
A world player in the battle against disease, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization was first established at the University of Saskatchewan under the guidance and urging of Veterinarian Chris Bigland, its founding director.
Originally called the Veterinary and Infectious Disease Organization, it was focused on developing and testing vaccines for livestock. The name was changed in 2003 to reflect the organization’s expanded research goals, says Andrew Van Kessel, director for research.
“VIDO is an infectious disease research organization, so we are a one-health organization where we work in both animal and human disease,” Van Kessel said during a conversation with Prairie Hog Country.
“Of course, our roots are in veterinary medicine and animal-related disease. So, we’re very much interested in diseases that affect animal productivity and animal health; particularly those diseases for which we do not have effective control strategies and discovering and developing those strategies so that farmers – swine producers – have (access) to them to protect against disease.”
That internationally renowned team of scientists includes virologist Yan Zhou, who has dedicated her life to fighting influenzas and biochemist Heather Wilson, who works on vaccine delivery systems. For example, Wilson is developing the technology to deliver PRRS and PEDv vaccines in the semen as gilts are being bred.
The need arose with the introduction of loose housing in gestation rooms and the resulting difficulties in catching and handling the animals. It was felt that introducing the vaccine during artificial insemination would save considerable effort, says Wilson.
The PRRS (porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome) vaccine will protect the gilts, while the PEDv (porcine epidemic diarrhea virus) will protect the piglets through the colostrum produced at farrowing. So far, the work has focused on intrauterine delivery of the PEDv vaccine when breeding gilts so those antibodies will develop during gestation.
“So, it’s in utero, but it’s not affecting the fetuses developing,” says Wilson.
“It’s more that she gets an immune response . . . and then when the piglets are born, they suckle and they get the antibodies.”
There have been some challenges, she says. Among them was the critical step of ensuring that the vaccine does not kill the sperm. Wilson collaborated with researchers in the university’s pharmacy and nutrition research areas to create a nanoparticle that protects the sperm by encapsulating the vaccine.
“We’ve tested the nanoparticles in just normal pigs, just intramuscular, and we found some that work very well,” says Wilson.
“The next trick then is to immunize the gilt right at breeding, and then see how protected she is. The trick about the gilt is, we’re not sure how well it will work the first time because most vaccines require two doses. It might be that we have to do an injection first in a couple weeks and then breed.
“After that, in every breeding cycle, if we could administer the same intrauterine vaccines, say against PRRS or circovirus or whatever, we can design it against that. Then they will be protected at every breeding cycle.”
Zhou, who first joined VIDO in 1999 and then returned in 2003 after a brief hiatus, says her interest in viruses arose from her observations of and questions about the effects of disease.
“We are interacting with pathogens all of the time. I like challenging work. The virus keeps changing and we keep finding the solutions and try to understand why the virus is so smart,” said Zhou.
“It’s a constant battle. The virus infects animals and also humans. If we understand how the virus causes disease, what are the factors? For example, influenza virus infects humans, infects birds, infects pigs, infects many species – so why does the virus keep changing, and then how does the host react – human or swine or chicken.”
Zhou says she takes special pleasure in mentoring students and in finding solutions to protect people and livestock from influenza.

VIDO is currently running major research projects involving PEDv, African Swine Fever and influenza, says Van Kessel. Researchers also devote considerable effort in collaborating with other labs in the search for solutions to human emergencies, including weighing in to battle the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak early in 2020, he said.
“During the pandemic we tested potential products for companies from around the world. We tested more than 400 different therapies and potential drugs that could aid in the treatment of SARS, COVID too. And of course, there’s much pressure to do that quickly and rapidly, and to do that we have tools in the tool kit in order to protect people’s lives,” he said.
But the organization has struggled with training the technicians it needs to work with animals, which are housed in the same facility as the lab.
“Training the lab technicians to work in these facilities with these animals, that’s a one-on-one exercise. If I’m training you to work in there, all I’m doing is training you because I have to carefully watch what you’re doing and ensure you’re doing it correctly, because there are severe consequences if you do not.”
That means the people who have the expertise must stop whatever work they’re doing to focus on training, including familiarizing new hires with VIDO’s animal handling protocols and extremely tight bio-security protocols.

Clinical veterinarian Rob Stevens says most technicians are recruited from rural Saskatchewan, so they have good knowledge of working with livestock.
“They care about their farms that they come from,” said Stevens.
“They want to see us advance our research, so it goes back to their own farms too. It helps out.”
Scientists and technicians work closely together, often in uncomfortable conditions, he says.
“And so you really have to be on top of your game and, at the same time too, you’re always watching out for everybody else. It’s one of those things.”
Public engagement through social media, events and any other available means is important in helping spread VIDO’s story, says Van Kessel.
“Caitlin (communications co-ordinator Caitlin Gill) is leading some of that work. Scientists that have very significant social media personas are there as . . . role models for the community. “We’re also part of the university, so one of our big roles here is to train that next generation,”
There are currently around 20 undergraduates working in the building, conducting small projects associated with their studies, and the lab also has seats for post-graduate and post-doctoral students, says Van Kessel.
“Certainly, the pandemic did a lot to increase our profile across this country. We have connections with other like-minded institutions around the world and with major funding agencies around the world.”
The lab is among the beneficiaries of a federal government plan to increase Canada’s profile in vaccine development because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“VIDO is funded in terms of capital investment by the federal government, the provincial government, by the City of Saskatoon and by a number of philanthropists to further build our infrastructure,” said Van Kessel.
“One of the things I’ve talked about was the Vaccine Development Center, so now at one location we have both discovery and innovative new products and the ability to make those products. We’re working now hand in hand (toward) what is called the technology readiness spectrum, to move down the full technology readiness spectrum so that new innovations can actually get into the hands of producers.”
Part of the challenge is to bridge the gap that commonly exists between research and knowledge transfer, says Van Kessel.
Along with the work underway in its labs, VIDO is ramping up its efforts to ensure that funders, health providers and the community in general are aware and in support of that work, says Gill.
Her office is working on an external newsletter, with the first edition to be published this fall, she says.
Connections are also being reinforced through a meeting that was to be held at the university this fall with industry leaders, decision makers and government, says Van Kessel.
“We need to spread the information up and to just try and get people on board with the stuff that we’re working on,” he said.
Stevens will spread the word again in January with a repeat trip to Banff Pork Seminar, where he hosted a booth in the trade fair earlier this year.
Please visit vido.org for details about the organization, its people and the work they are doing to protect your health, your farm’s health and your bottom line. •
— By Brenda Kossowan