July 18, 2024
Philippines to begin ASF vaccination programme by September 2024
The Philippines Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to roll out its African swine fever (ASF) vaccination programme by September 2024, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr announced, Rappler reported.
Tiu Laurel stated that the initial batch of vaccines arriving by September is designated for government use only. "Basically, it will be monitored for six months through government use, then after that, hopefully, if everything checks out, it's for commercial use already," he explained.
According to the agriculture secretary, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the ASF vaccine, which is produced by AVAC Vietnam.
ASF is a viral disease affecting farm-raised and wild swine with a 100% fatality rate. It has become a global concern following outbreaks in several countries, including China, Vietnam, and Korea. The Philippines experienced its first outbreak of the highly contagious disease in 2019.
The Bureau of Animal Industry reported that as of July 12, 2024, nine provinces still have active ASF cases.
However, a group of swine farmers expressed hesitation about using the vaccines due to safety and cost concerns, as well as controversies surrounding the trials conducted over the past year.
In October last year, the Senate conducted a probe into vaccine trials held by private farms without a certificate of product registration from the FDA.
"Most of our counterpart farmers from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia do not want to use the vaccines for fear of shedding as they have already seen ASF variants with two genotypes currently, and they suspect they came from vaccine use," said Alfred Ng, vice chairman of the National Federation of Hog Farmers (NatFed), in a statement.
Ng noted that the price of the vaccine is "very high" and almost "four times" compared to Vietnam's. He welcomed the DA's plan for "controlled vaccination with strict monitoring," stating that it is essential to avoid indiscriminate vaccine sales.
KPP Powers Commodities, the local distributor of the Vietnam-developed vaccine, assured the public that the vaccines are safe and effective.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) previously warned against the use of sub-standard vaccines, as they "may not confer any protection against ASF and risk spreading vaccine viruses that could result in acute or chronic disease."
WOAH also advised authorities to pursue a "well-designed vaccination programme" that includes post-vaccination surveillance and an exit strategy.
- Rappler
