The Department of Agriculture (DA) has formed a technical working committee (TWC) that would oversee the African swine fever (ASF) vaccine development and manufacturing in the country.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar issued Special Order (SO) 125 on February 5, 2021 that formalized the creation of the TWC.
The DA, meanwhile, has confirmed the outbreak of the ASF in Masbate, marking the presence of the fatal hog virus in all provinces of Bicol region.
In a letter addressed to Aroroy, Masbate Mayor Arturo Virtucio, DA Regional Field Office V Regional Executive Director Rodel P. Tornilla said hog organs and whole blood specimens submitted by Virtucio tested positive for ASF.
The letter was dated February 9, the same day the samples were tested. Tornilla has informed Virtucio of the government’s “new protocols” on swine depopulation.
In a webinar on Thursday, Eugene P. Mende, Philippine Veterinary Drug Association president, said the incursion of ASF in Masbate could have been caused by “viajeros” who easily penetrated the province’s port.
“The viajeroes easily enter the port of Masbate without proper accountability in terms of audit and disinfection. They easily travel anywhere,” Mende, who is also a member of the government’s ASF Crisis Management Task Force, said in Filipino.
Based on the government’s latest zoning plan, Masbate was the lone province in the Bicol region without a reported ASF outbreak prior to the February 9 confirmation.
Under the SO, the TWC is responsible for coordinating with the United States Department of Agriculture, United Kingdom’s Pirbright Institute and other international research institutions “regarding the licensing, material transfer, development and manufacture of ASF vaccine.”
The TWC would also “facilitate the clinical trials of ASF vaccines that will be made available to ensure safety and efficacy and the eventual registration of such.”
The group would also be responsible for fast-tracking the procurement of commercially available ASF vaccines to kick-start the country’s nationwide vaccination program.
Dar also instructed the TWC to “formulate national policies and guidelines for ASF vaccine development, trial and manufacturing.”
The TWC would be chaired by Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director Reildrin G. Morales and National Livestock Program (NLP) Director Ruth S. Miclat-Sonaco.
The members of the TWC are: Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) OIC-Deputy Executive Director Claro N. Mingala; UP Los Baños College of Veterinary Medicine Assistant Professor Remil L. Galay; Central Luzon State University College of Veterinary Science and Medicine Dean Virginia M. Venturina and National Advisory Committee for Animal Disease Control and Emergency Chair Edna Zenaida V. Villacorte.
The TWC would also include representatives and leaders from the private sector: National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. President Chester Warren Y. Tan, Robina Farms Inc. Director Dante J. Palabrica, Philippine Veterinary Medical Association President Corazon P. Occidental and Philippine College of Swine Practitioners President Zoilo M. Lapuz.
Former BAI Director Ronnie Domingo, who is now the head of the PCC, earlier told the BusinessMirror that the country is being cautious about ASF vaccine rollout by undertaking necessary technical consultations regarding the matter.
“Unlike the Philippines, China went into rapid development and deployment of ASF vaccines. The new strain issue can be considered as part of the unwanted consequence of inadequate vaccine efficacy and biosafety testing,” Domingo said via SMS.
“[The Philippines] has not yet approved any ASF vaccine. DA is arranging vaccine development research with several foreign institutions. Technical consultations are being made to prevent such adverse effects,” he added.
Reuters reported last month that a new strain of the fatal ASF virus has been detected in China that was reportedly caused by illegal vaccines.
The new ASF strain discovered in China is missing one or two key genes present in the wild ASF virus and doesn’t kill pigs, according to the Reuters report. However, the new strain causes reduction in the number of healthy piglets, the report added.
In a virtual press briefing last Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar disclosed that they have been in talks with the United Kingdom and now with Vietnam for possible trials of their respective ASF vaccines in the Philippines.
“We have coordinated with the United Kingdom and they are positive in our efforts to also have these vaccines introduced properly and massively used in the country,” Dar said.
The ASF, which is fatal to pigs but not harmful to humans, has resulted in the culling of about 500,000 pigs, based on latest figures disclosed by Dar.