Researchers Looking At Horseshoe Crab For Coronavirus Vaccine
HORSESHOE CRAB VACCINE – As the world continues to struggle against the new coronavirus, researchers are looking at horseshoe crabs for testing.
Humans owe a lot to this ancient species of crustacean as their blood is used to ensure substances injected to humans are free from any form of deadly bacteria contamination. This is due to a special compound in their blood.
Whenever their blood comes in contact with endotoxins, microbial byproducts which can be harmful, it quickly clots up. Thus, this attribute makes the horseshoe crab blood empirical in COVID-19 vaccine research.
READ: Coronavirus Vaccine Effective, Safe In First Human Trial Study Says
Sadly, according to an article from the Smithsonian, an estimated 50,000 crabs die during what people call the “annual blood harvest”. Moreover, these ancient arthropods existence is being threatened by pollution, habitat loss, and overfishing.
Researchers stick steel needles that such the blood of each helmet-shaped crab and gets released to where it was caught. However, the article stated that thousands of them still die in the process. Conservation groups report over 100,000 crab deaths each year.
In the race for the coronavirus vaccine, the crab’s blood is used for drug purity testing. As per the article, one company inserted horseshoe crab genes into lab-grown microorganisms to test the effectiveness of vaccines.
However, due to environmental concerns, companies such as Eli Lilly began using alternative products due to rFC for purity testing. Moreover, the use of synthetic products was more consistent and reduced reliance on animal population.
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