DA expands gov’t-controlled vaccination vs. ASF to VisMin

DEPARTMENT OF Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Monday said the government-controlled vaccination against African swine fever (ASF) will be expanded to the Visayas and Mindanao.

“We will cast a wider net to include La Union, Quezon, Mindoro, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Cebu in the BAI’s (Bureau of Animal Industry) controlled testing of the initial 150,000 doses of ASF vaccines we have imported from Vietnam,” Tiu Laurel said in a statement.

The DA-BAI earlier launched its first government-controlled vaccination among 41 healthy and ASF-negative hogs in small backyard farms in Lobo, Batangas.

Around 10,000 doses of AVAC live vaccines, which were purchased through an emergency procurement, were allocated for Batangas.

Tiu Laurel said free vaccines would also be provided to commercial farms in red zones to ensure stable pork supply in the country.

“Our goal is to ensure a steady supply of pork in the market and stabilize prices,” he said.

As of Sept. 6, the BAI said 472 barangays in 109 municipalities and 31 provinces were still classified as red zones.

The highest number of affected barangays are in North Cotabato with 108, Batangas with 96, and Quezon with 91.

The BAI also reported new ASF cases in 13 barangays in Abra and one barangay in Mountain province in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); one in Pilar, Sorsogon; one in Biliran, Biliran; two barangays in Rizal, Zamboanga del Norte; and one in Butuan City in Surigao del Norte.

Expediting trials

DA Assistant Secretary for Swine and Poultry Constante Palabrica, meanwhile, vowed to expedite trials of ASF vaccines from the United States, Vietnam, South Korea, and Thailand.

Then four distributors offer ASF vaccines for both growers and breeders.

During the Senate committee hearing, Palabrica said vaccines for growers will be prioritized in the eyed vaccine trials in case the ongoing government-controlled vaccination using the AVAC live vaccines from Vietnam exhibit negative results.

Once proven safe and effective, results and reports of trials for the issuance of the certificate of product registration (CPR)-modified release shall be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

For the ongoing government-controlled vaccination, Palabrica said all 10,000 doses will be used within September to reduce infection pressure in Batangas.

“Pagbakuna namin (After we vaccinate), we have to get the blood sample to check iyong (the) antibody. So, give me another month, September, makikita ko na iyong epekto ng binakunahan kong (I will see the effect of the vaccinated) 10,000 (hogs),” he told senators.

“By October, maibibigay na namin ang resulta sa FDA, at ang FDA ngayon ay pwede nang palitan ang (we can give the results to the FDA, and the FDA can then replace the) monitored release.”

Overall, the DA allocated around PHP350 million for the procurement of 600,000 doses of ASF vaccines in the country. (Stephanie Sevillano)