June 5, 2023

 

Philippines recommends Vietnam-made Avac vaccine for ASF

The Philippines' Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has officially recommended the Avac vaccine, manufactured in Vietnam, as a solution against African swine fever (ASF), ABS- CBN News reported.

 

Dr Arlyn Asteria Vytiaco, BAI assistant director, confirmed that the letter of recommendation has been submitted to the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval. The vaccine has demonstrated its safety and efficacy in clinical trials conducted across six farms in Luzon.

 

The clinical trials conducted by BAI revealed a significant increase in antibodies against ASF in all the samples used. However, before the Avac vaccine can be imported, it requires a certificate of product registration.

 

Upon approval, the BAI plans to import a minimum of 600,000 doses from the Vietnamese manufacturer. The Avac vaccine is a single-shot vaccine designed for swine aged four to 10 weeks.

 

The guidelines for the vaccine rollout will be released once the FDA grants a Certificate of Product Registration. Dr Vytiaco said that the vaccination would not be mandatory but encouraged swine raisers to consider using it once the vaccine becomes commercially available.

 

Pricing details for the Avac vaccine have not been disclosed yet. The Department of Agriculture assured swine raisers that efforts would be made to ensure accessibility, even for small backyard raisers.

 

The Philippines' FDA said it will soon evaluate the vaccine's efficacy. Atty. Job Aguzar, FDA spokesperson, confirmed that the application has been received and will undergo pre-assessment. If deemed acceptable, the FDA will proceed with evaluating the submitted dossier to determine the quality, safety, and efficacy of the ASF vaccine.

 

As per government data, approximately 15 provinces in the Philippines still have active cases of ASF.

 

-      ABS-CBN News