Public roll-out African swine fever (ASF) vaccine slated for August
Official roll-out of an ASF vaccine in the Philippines could start in just one month’s time.
Through the Bureau of Animal Industry, the Department of Agriculture has been testing two potential vaccines, according to the Philippine News Agency (PNA). Over recent months, tests have been carried out at 10 locations. Agriculture Secretary William Dar reports that the results will be released at the end of August.
Many pig owners are excited about the prospect of a vaccine to protect their animals from this devastating disease. However, a provincial veterinarian said that others fear the new vaccine could spread the infection further.
There is still testing to do before any vaccine is rolled out on the market, according to Secretary Dar. Blood sampling needs to be completed for the animals in the current trial, and then the vaccine will be administered to ASF-infected pigs to see if they recover, he said.
Progress reported in Philippines’ ASF recovery program
Progress on the vaccine was shared at a meeting rolling out the Philippines’ latest Swine Repopulation, Rehabilitation, and Recovery Credit Program, reported PNA. The event was held in the province of Pangasinan. It and 17 other areas are set to receive financial support from the Department of Agriculture for an ASF recovery program.
Located in the north of the island of Luzon in the Ilocos Region, Pangasinan has been particularly hard-hit by ASF.
Last week, the pig sector in Negros Occidental was praised for its continued efforts to keep ASF out of the province, reported PNA. Negros Occidental belongs to the region of Western Visayas.
Meanwhile, the same source reports that Cebu province in the Central Visayas region has been chosen by the Department of Agriculture for the construction of new swine multiplier farms. As one of the few provinces that has not reported any ASF cases, Cebu has been selected as a base to start re-building the Philippines’ swine population after ASF.
In May, the country’s president declared a “state of calamity” in the Philippines due to the ongoing ASF situation.
First ASF case in China’s Sichuan province for 4 months
In July, a single pig found dead in a truck in China’s Sichuan province tested positive for the ASF virus.
According to the official report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the animal was with 88 others in the vehicle, which was inspected at a highway checkpoint in the Guangyan city region in the north of the province. The remaining animals were culled.
This was the 9th ASF outbreak in Sichuan province since March of 2020, and the first since March of this year. Majority of these outbreaks were discovered as a result of highway checks set up to reveal illegal animal movements.
In this outbreak series, cases were also detected in Yunnan province, and in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Involved in total have been just over 800 pigs.
Suspicion remains over ASF in second Malaysian state
Cause of death of domestic and wild pigs in the Malaysian state of Sarawak has yet to be confirmed, according to The Borneo Post last week. A number of pigs and a wild boar were found dead in the Ba Kelalan district at the end of June and in early July. ASF was suspected.
Located in the northwest of the island of Borneo, Sarawak borders both the Malaysian state of Sabah and the Indonesian state of Kalimantan. ASF cases have been confirmed in both of these areas.
According to the latest official report from the veterinary authority of Malaysia, there have been 33 confirmed ASF outbreaks since February — all in Sabah. The most recent documented case was on June 16.
ASF returns to another region of Russia’s Far East
After an absence of 13 months, ASF was confirmed again in Amur oblast in early July.
Both of the pigs in a backyard died in the area of Gribovka, according to the official report to the OIE.
New cases confirmed in South Korean wild boar
Between June 24 and July 14, 35 wild boar tested positive for the ASF virus in South Korea (Republic of Korea). Of these, 22 were found dead, and the rest were culled.
Like all earlier cases in the nation’s wild population, these animals were found in the northern provinces of Gangwon and Gyeonggi.
Latest cases bring the total reported to the OIE since September of 2019 to 1,474.
Laos announces ASF “resolved”
In Laos (Lao People’s Democratic Republic), the ASF situation has officially been declared “resolved.” This is according to the latest report to the OIE by the country’s animal health agency.
First cases of the disease were reported in Sainyabuli (Xaignabouri) province in early August of 2020. Up to the last registered outbreak at the end of September, 10 outbreaks were officially confirmed. All of these were among village herds of up to 275 animals in the same district. No further cases were reported, and the last outbreaks ended on December 28 last year.
Located in the west of Laos, Sainyabuli province borders Thailand.
Earlier this month, ASF was blamed for rising mortality among pigs in India’s northern states.
South Africa registers 7 new ASF outbreaks in three provinces
Over the past two weeks, the veterinary authority of South Africa has informed the OIE about seven new ASF outbreaks in domestic pigs.
Occurring between May 25 and June 30, these affected one small farm and six village herds in Free State, Gauteng, and Western Cape. A total of 1,169 pigs were directly impacted.
Six of the latest outbreaks continued an outbreak series that began in April of 2019 in Mpumalanga. Since then, the infection has spread to other provinces. By the beginning of June of this year, 68 outbreaks had been confirmed, involving more than 40,800 pigs.
South Africa’s second ASF outbreak series centers on Western Cape province. Since the first cases in February of this year, the number of confirmed outbreaks has reached 21, affecting 1,441 pigs in total.
View our continuing coverage of the global African swine fever situation.
