April 25, 2024
Philippines to roll out ASF vaccine by June
Philippines' President Ferdinand R Marcos, Jr announced that the government is set to introduce a vaccine against African swine fever (ASF), a highly contagious viral disease affecting swine, by June, BusinessWorld reported.
During a town hall forum in Occidental Mindoro, President Marcos informed farmers that the country's first ASF vaccine would be sourced from Vietnam. He stated that the procurement process is underway, with expectations to start administering the vaccines by June or July, pending production completion in Vietnam, the vaccine's developer.
The decision to acquire the ASF vaccine from Vietnam follows discussions held by President Marcos during his visit to the country a month prior, as confirmed by Philippines' Agriculture Undersecretary Roger Navarro last February. Since the initial ASF outbreak in 2019, the Philippines has faced significant challenges in containing the spread of the disease.
In 2023, the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry recommended Vietnam's AVAC vaccine for product registration after successful trials conducted in Luzon from March to May 2023. The trials, conducted across six areas in Luzon, demonstrated a 100% production of antibodies in four-week-old to 10-week-old swine, with no reported side effects.
- BusinessWorld
