Philippines Approves First Commercially Available ASF Vaccine

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) under the Department of Agriculture (DA) has approved the commercial sale of AVAC ASF LIVE, the first African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine available for fatteners, or pigs raised for pork production. According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), AVAC ASF LIVE was developed by AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company. “The availability of a commercially approved ASF vaccine is crucial to our repopulation program. It gives hog raisers another tool to protect healthy animals as we work to rebuild the industry and secure a more stable supply of pork,” DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement. ASF first hit the Philippines in 2019, reducing the country’s hog population from 13 million heads to around 8 million. The BAI has reported ASF outbreaks in 76 of the country’s 82 provinces. Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Constante Palabrica said a second vaccine, South Korea’s PROVAC, is currently being evaluated by the BAI. Palabrica also asked Tiu Laurel for P1 billion in the proposed 2027 budget to subsidize ASF vaccination for backyard pig farms, potentially making the vaccine more accessible to small-scale producers. The DA recently issued a circular lifting the temporary ban on the importation of industrially manufactured, hermetically sealed and heat-treated canned pork products imposed due to the threat of ASF. The department said its risk analysis conducted in January showed that the biosecurity risks associated with the products were negligible. The World Organisation for Animal Health’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code provides that heat treatment of at least 30 minutes at a minimum temperature of 70 degrees Celsius can inactivate the ASF virus in meat.— MCG, GMA News