HOG farmers and swine industry groups have asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI), to approve the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the African swine fever (ASF) vaccine from Vietnam.
In a letter coursed through Agriculture Secretary Franciso Tiu Laurel Jr., the groups, led by AGAP Partylist Rep. Nicanor Briones, are urging Marcos to declare the ASF outbreak a national emergency to enable the mass use of the vaccine that is currently in controlled trials by the DA-BAI.
“We will study their request, which will allow greater access to the ASF vaccine for backyard piggeries,” Tiu Laurel said after meeting with the group last week.
An EUA, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, is a mechanism that facilitates the availability and use of medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during public health emergencies. It was the same mechanism used during the Covid-19 pandemic that allowed the use of unapproved vaccines against the virus.
The groups said the ASF vaccine has been tested in Vietnam and the Philippines “with favorable results.” They claimed that in the recent vaccination drive conducted by the DA-BAI in Lobo, Batangas, 34 piglets yielded 40-percent antibody levels. The groups hope that future tests will show an increase in the piglets’ antibodies.
Approximately 6.3 million piglets and fatteners could be inoculated if the government allows the emergency use of the ASF vaccine.
It could also enable the full recovery of the swine industry from ASF, the groups said.
Along with AGAP, signatories to the letter to the President include Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc., Cooperative Union of Batangas, SoroSoro Ibaba Development Cooperative, Luntian Multipurpose Cooperative, Limcoma Multipurpose Cooperative, and Cavite Farmers Feedmilling and Marketing Cooperative.
On September 9, Tiu Laurel ordered the nationwide testing of the ASF vaccine by expanding the controlled ASF vaccinations to other areas in Luzon, as well as those designated as “red zones” in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The agriculture chief said La Union, Quezon, Mindoro, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Cebu will be added to the BAI’s controlled testing of the initial 150,000 doses of ASF vaccines imported from Vietnam to ensure a steady supply of pork in the market and to stabilize prices.
As of September 20, there were 31 provinces with active cases of ASF, while affected barangay (villages) grew to 524 from 472, BAI data showed.
Be the first to comment