Pig farmers gain another ‘buoy’ thanks to ASF vaccine: Practical results will convince farmers

AVAC conducts hundreds of tests in 20 provinces and cities

After nearly 3 years of research, the AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine developed by AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company has been officially licensed for circulation and use for pigs from July 2023, marking an important step forward in the prevention of African swine fever (ASF) in Vietnam.

“During the development process, AVAC has coordinated with state management agencies to proactively conduct evaluation trials on at least 600,000 farms. After being licensed in July 2023, AVAC continued to demonstrate the safety of the vaccine in many localities by performing more than 100 trials in over 20 provinces and cities. The results showed that all vaccinated pigs were healthy and well protected,” said Dr. Nguyen Van Diep, General Director of AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company.

To spread the effectiveness of the ASF vaccine to farmers, AVAC is coordinating with state management agencies and related units to organize a series of seminars, training courses and pilot models.

Some provinces such as Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Ninh, and Lai Chau have deployed mass vaccination with positive results. Lang Son is a prime example. After 3 months of ASF vaccination, the outbreak has been reduced by more than 90% and the disease has been well under control.

AVAC has donated the ASF vaccine to a number of provinces, including Tien Giang, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Long An, Lao Cai, and many more. Each province receives 1,000 - 3,000 doses in service of mass vaccination in its communes. After seeing that the vaccine is safe and effective, these localities will come up with plans on a grander scale to expand the model.

"AVAC also cooperated with C.P. Vietnam Livestock Joint Stock Company recently to organize seminars to help the technical staff of C.P. Vietnam understand the characteristics of the vaccine, thereby bringing this vaccine closer to customers. Thanks to that, nearly 50 livestock farms and customers of C.P. Vietnam have tested the vaccine and achieved very good results, with many households successfully selling their product. The subjects used for the test include meat pigs and breeding pigs," Dr. Diep said.

Vaccines are livestock’s most effective "armor"

Although there are still some concerns about the effectiveness of the ASF vaccine as it is a new vaccine and is produced by a domestic company, AVAC has persistently implemented practical testing models, helping farmers become more confident through "real people, real work" results.

According to Dr. Diep, one of the major obstacles for small and medium-sized farmers is that the ASF vaccine has not been recommended for use in sows and breeding pigs. AVAC has completed the procedure and confidently recommends the use of the AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine for both subjects.

"Our company is carrying out registration procedures with the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) to officially get approval for the use of vaccines for sows and boars, helping to expand the use of vaccines and promote its protection capability, Farmers, particularly small and medium-sized farming models, can base on actual documents and gain more confidence when investing," said Dr. Diep.

One thing to note is that Vaccines are "armor", not "magic wands", so to achieve maximum disease prevention effectiveness, farmers need to combine them with other biosecurity measures. Vaccines are only for disease prevention, not treatment.

"After vaccinating pigs against ASF, it takes 2 - 4 weeks to generate enough protective immunity. If during this time pigs are exposed to pathogens, an epidemic may still occur. Farmers therefore need to implement many other biosecurity solutions in a synchronous manner to avoid the risk of epidemic occurrence," Dr. Diep said.

As a valuable vaccine, AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine cannot avoid the risk of being counterfeited, affecting the trust of farmers. To help people recognize genuine products, AVAC has provided a video instructing on how to distinguish between real and fake vaccines on the company's website. In addition, each bottle of ASF vaccine produced by AVAC has an anti-counterfeit stamp and a QR Code to authenticate its origin. Farmers should buy vaccines from reputable dealers to avoid products of unknown origin floating on the market.

Dr. Nguyen Van Diep, General Director of AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company