Do horseshoe crabs play a critical role in vaccine development?
The American horseshoe crab is vital to U.S. vaccine development due to a compound in its blood that's used to test new vaccines for bacterial contaminants.
In 2018, the medical-supplies industry drained up to 30% of the blood of 500,000 horseshoe crabs, and then released them back into the wild. Around 15% don't survive the process, adding to population pressures from over-harvesting, pollution and habitat loss. The species is currently classified as vulnerable.
A synthetic alternative has yet to be approved for widespread use in the U.S. Coronavirus vaccine efforts are not expected to put large additional pressures on supply. Very little is required to test a sample, and a day's supply of the compound is sufficient to ensure purity of 5 billion vaccine doses, one drug-research company says.
