March 10, 2021

 

China to clamp down further on illegal African swine fever vaccines

China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said it will clamp down further on the illegal production and sales of African swine fever (ASF) vaccines in the country, Reuters reported.

 

The ministry said it will implement tougher measures to stop the hidden risks caused by fake ASF vaccines and ensure the country's swine production recovery and industry development.

 

Industry insiders said illegal ASF vaccines has resulted in new chronic form of ASF, which causes a debilitating condition in swine that lowers output but is harder to detect.

 

There are no approved ASF vaccines in the world. However, illegal vaccines using several strains of the live virus with deleted genes are circulating in China.

 

According to ministry, identification and testing must be strengthened and local governments are urged to identify any positive samples of the ASF virus and provincial veterinary authorities are to be notified of any ASF strains with artificial gene deletions.

 

It also said of illegal activities related to fake vaccines will have increased punishment, and suspected criminal cases promptly referred to the judiciary. Illegal drug producers will have their licenses revoked, be fined the maximum possible amount, and people in charged banned for life for producing veterinary products.

 

A campaign educating farmers about the risks of using fake vaccines will be rolled out, with an RMB 30,000 (~US$4,600; RMB 1 = US$0.15) reward given to any informant reporting to authorities about the use of fake vaccines.

 

The new measures come as China prepares to combat an ASF resurgence. Official ASF outbreaks have been reported recently in Sichuan, Hubei and Yunnan provinces, but analysts said the prevalence is much higher.

 

Wayne Johnson, a veterinarian at Beijing-based consultancy Enable Ag-Tech Consulting, said the ASF problem has become out of control for a while. He said while the ministry's steps are good, some producers may find it difficult to obey the ban on shipping ASF infected swine to slaughterhouses.

 

The ministry said provincial authorities must report on their work against the use of illegal vaccines by June 30 and again by November 30 this year. It also said the Chinese Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control and the Chinese Center for Animal Health and Epidemiology will strengthen their epidemiological investigation of the new ASF strains.

 

- Reuters