Three new technologies for the detection and management of African pigs have been revealed to the Philippines amid continuing concerns for a Vietnam vaccine.
Pig African fever, which causes bleeding fever in pigs, had a devastating effect on the country’s pig industry, with outbreaks of 76 of the 82 provinces from 2019 and six provinces recording active cases last month.
Vietnam also struggles in a serious fireplace, with thousands of pigs infected.
The Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines (Dost) and the Life Science Company of Bioassets Corporation have developed a fast -paced DNA and real -time detection kit for farmers.
A mobile biochemical laboratory, developed by Bioassets Corporation, is designed to support a rapid response to possible outbreaks and improve the surveillance of diseases, allowing farmers to diagnose the disease on the spot.
Minister Dost Renato U. Solidum, younger, said interventions have shown how science, technology and innovation can offer “holistic solutions to the pressing challenges of animal health” that affect food food safety.
However, Fermin Diaz, editor of the e -magazine Livestock and meat business; prescribed Scidev.net: “The way I see it seems to be that these new tools are just pale … so Dost can say that they are dealing with the subject.
“These kits have little contribution to the overall diagnostic side of the disease management.”
African pig fever is an extremely contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs, with 100 %mortality rates. It has caused huge financial losses and disorder in the chain of pork supply, threatening food safety throughout the area.
If left uncontrolled, there is a risk that the virus will be mutated, it may make it more contagious or infectious.
The Government of the Philippines, with the help of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), adopted a three -level strategy to fight the virus last year, focused on prevention, control and vaccination.
Constante Palabrica, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Philippines for the Animals, said the cases were reduced by “zone and control points” as part of the new program. Noted that no microbial mutations have been identified.
According to official numbers, more than 495 cities and municipalities have been upgraded by “red” infected zones in “pink”, which means they are no longer under quarantine.
Vaccine dispute
The Philippine government has introduced large quantities of AVAC vaccine built by Vietnam, despite concerns about testing data, emerged at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Commerce, Industry and Georgia in June.
The vaccine was distributed to local livestock farming livestock farming in an attempt to avoid mass deaths from farmed pigs, a source of survival for thousands of people.
But the move was worried about some who are afraid of repetition of experience in Vietnam with lively impaired vaccines – a vibrant vaccine that has been weakened – where it affected pig health.
“The national implementation of living weakened vaccines in Vietnam for precaution has probably affected the viral genetic group between the pig population,” said an article published in the magazine Scientific reports.
The Philippine Food and Drug Administration said in 2024 that field tests were ongoing in the country for almost two years and claimed that the vaccine had 100 % efficiency without side effects. However, no test details have been made public.
“I would like to express a serious concern about vaccine tests,” said spokesman Ferjanel Biron, a physician, during the June 11 listening to Congress.
He questioned why a public registration certificate was issued despite the two veterinarians who evaluated the AVAC vaccine which he considers to be not safe.
According to Diaz, the vaccine has a low rate of acceptance among farmers in the Philippines, with only “five to ten percent” to use it.
“The product is largely and indiscriminately approved by the Ministry of Agriculture … with a very inadequate orientation taken on the risks of the product and the results,” he added.
Said a coal of pigs in the Batangas province Scidev.net He is worried about using the vaccine in herds of pigs.
“We will not take the risk,” the team’s spokesman said on the condition of anonymity. “It’s still experimental.”
Avac ASF Live Vaccine, created by Avac Vietnam JSC and introduced to the Philippines by KPP Powers Commodities Inc. It comes from a strain of a virus called ASFV-GF-MGF or MGF.
In 2022, the US Department of Agriculture issued a public warning that warned that MGF was “able to make a serious threat to animal health or animal products”.
“It has also been found that the strain of the virus is not safe to use in pigs because its genome is unstable, possibly leading to reversal of infectivity,” the statement warned.
Low vaccination rate
Nguyen Van Diep, General Manager of Avac Vietnam’s joint shares and leader of the ASF vaccine project, said the vaccine has been used since July 2022.
“The reason they still show up houses is due to the low vaccination rate,” he said Scidev.net. “According to our estimates, at any time, it is less than five percent.”
Doubting that the AVAC vaccines sent to the Philippines were degraded, Diep said vaccine manufacturers adhered to strict quality standards and underlined the perishable nature of vaccines.
“Maintaining a live vaccine is also important.
From the first epidemic in China in 2018, 20 countries reported African pig fever, according to the World Animal Health Organization.
Lionel Dabbadie, a FAO spokesman in the Philippines, said Scidev.net: “There is no cure from today, so traditional control measures, such as the slaughter Scidev.net.
He stressed that a multifaceted approach was vital to stop the disease. “Vaccines are very promising, but they are not a panacea,” he said.
