MANILA, Philippines – The government is seeking to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for commercial use of African swine fever vaccines by April.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) had administered 28,000 ASF vaccine doses out of the 160,000 available doses, according to DA spokesman Arnel de Mesa.
“[T]hey were requested by the Secretary (DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr) na within April dapat magkaroon na ng commercial approval from FDA itong bakuna na ito galing sa Vietnam,” De Mesa said in a press briefing Wednesday, March 19.
(They were requested by the Secretary that they should obtain FDA’s commercial approval for the Vietnam-made vaccines within April.)
BAI conducted controlled vaccinations in 29 farms across Luzon. The FDA had issued a certificate of product registration for the monitored release of vaccines. They have yet to green light the commercial use of the vaccines.
51 hogs died after vaccination, but De Mesa maintained that the pigs are generally showing positive response to the vaccine as only a small portion of the population died.
“Based on the initial report na pinadala nila, effective siya… based doon sa result noong completed and ongoing na pagbabakuna,” said De Mesa. (Based on the initial report the BAI sent regarding the completed and ongoing inoculation, the vaccines are effective.)
Active ASF cases have dwindled, down to 39 barangays in seven regions as of Friday, March 14 from 66 barangays recorded as of the end of February. Bohol has 15 active ASF cases, the highest among other provinces.
ASF is a viral disease of farm-raised and wild pigs with a 100% fatality rate. It has become a global concern after outbreaks were detected in many countries, including China, Vietnam, and Korea. The Philippines had its first outbreak of the highly contagious disease in 2019. – Rappler.com