Farmers would even leave livestock farming without ASF vaccines

True ‘rescuer’ of pig farmers

Pig farming households in Dai Hung commune, Van Kim, My Duc district, Hanoi would never forget the end of 2023 when the African Swine Fever wave swept the area. The larger the farms, the more worried and concerns it brought to farmers when they felt in the risks of penniless.

Being confused over the management of the situation, many pig farms in the city have successfully weathered the "storm" of the African swine fever epidemic by using the African swine fever vaccine from AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company (AVAC Company). Delivered by animal feed suppliers, the vaccine has acted as a revitalizing remedy for households recovering from the epidemic.

Nguyen Manh Dai, a resident of Trinh Tiet village in Dai Hung commune, visited Le Viet The's farm in Phuong Dinh commune (Dan Phuong) to personally witness and learn about the effectiveness of the African swine fever vaccine, based on the recommendation of feed suppliers and in collaboration with other local farm owners.

Upon his return, he promptly invited the technical experts of AVAC Company to evaluate his farm, engage in discussions, and provide assistance in sampling pigs for testing for African swine disease. Upon receiving the negative test results for 70 immature pigs that were not yet suitable for sale, he confidently made the decision to administer the AVAC ASF LIVE vaccination.After vaccination, his pigs continued to grow and develop normally without any unusual signs. After 29 days, he and AVAC Company's technical staff collected blood samples from the pigs for testing. The results showed a protection rate of over 94% against African swine fever after vaccination.

Despite his lack of complete confidence in the company's conclusions, he took the initiative to send blood samples to the Central Veterinary Diagnostic Center for verification. The findings of the center also validated a protection rate exceeding 94%. It was only at that moment that he finally exhaled deeply, convinced that he had discovered a genuine rescuer for his pigs.

Dai stated that his family's two pig breeding sites, one designated for the purpose of fattening pigs and the other for sows, are located next to each other. During the vaccination of the fattening pigs, the sows were in a pregnant state. He contemplated the possibility of vaccinating the sows, but the firm discouraged him from doing so. After a duration exceeding one month, a portion of his female pigs started exhibiting indications of sickness.

The individual separated the pigs that were impacted and arranged for the local veterinarian to gather samples for examination, which subsequently verified the presence of African swine fever. As a result, the sows and their newborn piglets had to be euthanized. Nevertheless, the fattening pigs exhibited normal growth and development, even though they were subjected to routine care, cleaning, and transportation between the two pens by the individual and his wife.

Recognizing the vaccine's effectiveness, after handling the infected pigs and cleaning the barns, the family boldly introduced a batch of 20 replacement pigs. Despite the company's recommendation not to vaccinate replacement pigs, he still took the risk and vaccinated them. Currently, the vaccinated replacement pigs are growing normally and have begun their second reproductive cycle.

"At present, my barn houses a total of 200 pigs, which consists of 20 sows. All the pigs in my barn have received vaccination to protect them from African swine fever." Dai enthusiastically admitted that despite the company's recommendation to use AVAC ASF LIVE vaccination just for fattening pigs aged 4 weeks and older, and not for breeding pigs such as replacement, sows, and boars, he nevertheless took the risk of vaccinating the replacement pigs.

Equally thrilled with successfully protecting his pigs using the African swine fever vaccine, Nguyen Van Luong from Kim Boi village, Van Kim commune, shared that in 2023, African swine fever first invaded his pig farm. He had to quickly sell his healthy fattening pigs at 44,000 VND/kg (the break-even price was about 55,000 VND/kg).

The remaining 9 pregnant sows had some that were infected. Determining that doing nothing would result in the death of the remaining pigs, he riskily used the African swine fever vaccine on all the sows and piglets. Surprisingly, the vaccinated sows that were already infected died, but the protection rate for the uninfected pigs was very high.

Seeing the vaccine's effectiveness, after handling all the infected pigs and disinfecting the barns, he introduced 7 more replacement pigs and vaccinated the entire herd against African swine fever. Currently, he maintains 50 fattening pigs and 10 sows.

After monitoring, all the vaccinated pigs have grown and developed healthily. Recently, his family sold 58 fattening pigs at a high market price (68,000 VND/kg), and after deducting expenses, he made a profit of 2.5 million VND per pig.

According to Luong, although he successfully risked vaccinating the sows and replacement pigs, his observations suggest not vaccinating pregnant sows, as their piglets are very difficult to raise, with a high rate of weak piglets that do not nurse well. For fattening pigs, the best time to vaccinate is from 4-5 weeks old. After vaccination, electrolytes can be given if the pigs show signs of fever.

Although some individuals argue that the cost of the African swine fever vaccine, priced at 65,000 VND per dosage per pig, is steep, it is important to consider the level of protection it provides. This protection enables successful sales of pigs weighing approximately 100-110 kg. In this context, the cost of the vaccine is comparable to only 1 kilogram of live weight.

Moreover, protected pigs allow farmers to easily repopulate and gradually expand their scale, bringing even greater value," Luong assessed.

Continuing research, development, and expansion of ASF vaccine

Nguyen Van Diep, General Director of AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company, stated that the AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine has been registered and certified for circulation in accordance with the Veterinary Law.

This vaccine is one of the first two commercial African swine fever vaccines to be licensed for circulation, particularly notable given that for over 100 years, no commercial vaccine for African swine fever had been licensed worldwide.

To achieve this result, the product underwent numerous stages of inspection and evaluation (at the company, the testing center of the Department of Animal Health, and limited use at several farms). The obtained results demonstrated consistency between research and practice, with the vaccine fully meeting requirements.

Currently, besides supplying the domestic market, the company has signed distribution agreements to export this vaccine to several countries worldwide (expected to be circulated in the Philippines in July).