Vietnamese companies ready to export African swine fever vaccines. – VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Two Vietnamese enterprises have said they are ready to boost the production of African swine fever (ASF) vaccines to serve domestic demands and exports.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), African swine fever is a highly lethal and contagious disease in domestic pigs and wild boars and there has been no ASF vaccine in the world over the past 100 years.

Two Vietnamese enterprises, NAVETCO Central Veterinary Medicine Joint Stock Company (NAVETCO) and AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company, have taken the initiative in researching and manufacturing ASF vaccines.

The administration of more than 600,000 doses of ASF vaccine on pigs aged between eight and 10 weeks carried out by the two companies showed positive outcomes.

Trần Xuân Hạnh, Deputy General Director of NAVETCO, said the company had well prepared resources from labourers, materials and machines to boost bulk production of its vaccine. It had sent documents to the Philippines, Thailand, and Myanmar for further evaluation of the vaccine’s effectiveness.

Regarding the results of cooperation in testing the ASF vaccine NAVET-ASFVAC in Dominica, at the request of the country and with the consent of the MARD, the Department of Animal Health and NAVETCO sent a delegation to support Dominica in deploying and testing the NAVET-ASFVAC vaccine from May 15 to June 19, 2023.

The working delegation coordinated with relevant agencies in Dominica to conduct the injection of 459 doses (out of a total of 2,500 doses provided by NAVETCO) at three pig farms.

The test results showed that the NAVET-ASFVAC vaccine was safe and effective with all 459 experimental pigs. Based on the test results, Dominica proposed NAVETCO continue to support 2,500 more doses of vaccine for expanded injection in the near future.

Meanwhile, AVAC supported 1,000 doses of AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine to the Philippines. Following the trial, the Philippine authorities concluded that the vaccine was safe and showed no evidence of viral shedding. Therefore, they proposed the Philippine government officially licence the import and use of 300,000 doses of AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine in the country.

With NAVET-ASFVAC and AVAC ASF LIVE, Việt Nam has become the first country to successfully develop and produce two vaccines against ASF, a disease that first appeared in Africa in 1921 with a mortality rate of up to 100 per cent. – VNS