BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is studying the possibility of subsidizing the vaccine for African Swine Fever (ASF).
The Vietnam-made Avac vaccine is currently awaiting the issuance of its product registration from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Dr. Jonic Natividad, chief of the Regulatory Division and regional focal person of the ASF Task Force of DA Region 6.
The Bureau of Animal Industry submitted its letter recommending FDA approval after proving the vaccine’s safety and efficacy in clinical trials conducted in six farms across Luzon.
However, according to the National Federation of Hog Farmers Incorporated, the vaccine reportedly costs between P400 to P600 per dose. Thus, it proposed that the government subsidize the vaccine.
Natividad, meanwhile, said, no price for the vaccine has been released yet. He is hoping it would not be too expensive.
It would be a big help to hog raisers if the vaccine is made free, he said, adding that local government units have the capacity to make purchases to protect their local hog industry.
As part of the ongoing efforts to control the spread of ASF and other swine illnesses, Natividad urged hog raisers not to sell or consume sick hogs.
He said the Food Safety Act of 2013 makes it illegal to sell hogs showing symptoms of diseases.
Natividad added that hog raisers are finding it difficult to follow Negros Occidental’s biosecurity measures, although he still urged them to cooperate, especially that losses due to various hog illnesses surged to P114,280,250 in the province.
As of June 4, the number of hog mortalities was at 10,004, or 8.84 percent of the province’s hog population, data from the Provincial Veterinary Office showed./PN
