October 16, 2024

Philippines' ASF vaccine rollout to expand beyond Batangas province

The rollout of the African swine fever (ASF) vaccine in the Philippines is expected to extend to areas outside Batangas province, according to a senior agriculture official, ABS-CBN News reported.

Philippines' Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Deogracias Victor Savellano announced that new strategies would be implemented to accelerate the distribution of the vaccine.

Savellano said that he and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel had discussed the urgency of speeding up the vaccination process.

"We discussed the need to hasten the rollout. We are committed to using 10,000 doses of the vaccine by November," Savellano stated.

Since the introduction of the ASF vaccine, fewer than 1,000 swine in Lobo and Lipa have been inoculated. To address this slow progress, Savellano indicated that regional directors would take a more active role in seeking out farms willing to participate in the vaccination programme.

"We will be employing new strategies where regional directors will actively search for farms interested in receiving the vaccine," he added.

One of the challenges faced in the rollout is the requirement for blood testing of swine to confirm that they are free of ASF before vaccination. This process has caused hesitation among small backyard farmers, as infected swine must be culled.

While acknowledging that blood testing remains a necessary part of the process, Savellano mentioned that they were exploring other possible approaches to streamline the vaccination effort.

-      ABS-CBN News