African swine fever vaccine is available, but still hesitant to vaccinate

According to the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), from the beginning of the year to the end of October 2023, there have been 481 African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks in 42 provinces and cities nationwide, forcing the destruction of more than 18,000 pigs, In which the epidemic is most severe and persistent in Lang Son, Cao Bang, Dak Lak, Son La...

Mr. Phan Quang Minh, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Health, said that the risk of ASF disease reoccurring and spreading widely in the upcoming time is very high because the characteristics of the ASF virus are very dangerous for pigs, capable of long-surviving time in the environment, the transmission route is very complicated.

According to Mr. Minh: "The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a document allowing the use of ASF vaccine nationwide from July 2023, but the quantity of use is still limited because some localities and pig farmers have not implemented it yet, but still afraid to vaccinate the pigs."

Mr. Tran Xuan Hanh, Deputy General Director of Navetco Central Veterinary Medicine Joint Stock Company, said that in preventing and fighting infectious diseases, vaccination combined with biosafety farming is very important. If these two things are done, disease prevention will be most effective and cost-effective.

Also, according to Mr. Hanh, the ASF vaccine has been officially allowed for use on a large scale. However, the recent vaccination implementation period shows there are still many difficulties because this is a new vaccine, so people do not fully understand it and are still hesitant.

Mr. Hanh proposed building a mandatory vaccination mechanism from the central to local levels, along with a support policy in the early stages so that people understand and get used to the ASF vaccine.

Mrs. Dinh Thi Thu, Deputy Director of Lang Son Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that for ASF disease, in 2023 in the province, there will be 76 outbreaks in 590 households in 10 districts, the number of pigs sick, dead, and forced to be destroyed is more than 2,300 children. There are currently four outbreaks in 4 communes and two districts in less than 21 days.

Mrs. Thu said: "The cause of ASF outbreaks in Lang Son is due to small-scale livestock farming that does not ensure biosecurity and old outbreaks. Besides, there are few breeding facilities in the province, and breeds from other provinces are of unknown origin and cannot be controlled. Regarding the ASF vaccine, Lang Son recommends that companies coordinate with localities to monitor and select specific subjects for more effective vaccination."

Mr. Nguyen Van Long, Director of the Department of Animal Health, noted: "The Department has implemented surveillance, detected and warned of many dangerous viral pathogens circulating, and has recommended specific vaccines. Quantity and quality of the vaccine are available, but why are the localities not using it, especially the ASF vaccine? We request the locality to clarify their concerns so they can be answered."

Mr. Long added: "The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture, domestic and international experts, has organized research and methodically evaluated the ASF vaccine and also issued many documents and organizations. The conference clearly understood, but the ASF vaccine has not received much attention."

"There is no vaccine, people say there is no vaccine, if there is a vaccine they don't use it, while the epidemic is increasing very strongly, warning viruses are circulating a lot," Mr. Long emphasized.

In the coming time, Mr. Long requested localities to urgently develop disease prevention plans, including plans to use vaccinations in general and ASF vaccines in particular. On the business side, continue to use and fully publish the results of using the ASF vaccine so that localities and people can understand how effective it is in evaluation, research, and practical use.

According to the report of the Department of Animal Health, the number of ASF vaccines supplied and expanded vaccine use after the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issued Official Dispatch No. 4780/BNN-TY dated July 24, 2023, is nearly 375,000 doses. The quantity of ASF vaccine exported is 300,000 doses. The number of ASF vaccines stored in the company's warehouses is over 2 million doses.