Vietnam’s African swine fever vaccine to be widely used by late 2022

The vaccination is expected to be carried out in Vietnam from July to the end of this year.

The made-in-Vietnam African swine fever vaccine will be likely used on a large scale by the end of 2022, according to Nguyen Van Long, acting director of the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Long said that the vaccine was branded NAVET-ASFVAC and is produced by NAVETCO National Veterinary Joint Stock Company. Over 50 farms in ten provinces and cities nationwide have been selected to administer 600,000 doses of vaccine against African swine fever.

It is expected that vaccination will be carried out from July to the end of the year, Long noted, adding that there will be an assessment for the vaccine application and a decision on widespread use will be considered.

Tran Xuan Hanh, deputy director of NAVETCO said that following five lab trials, the vaccine has proved to be able to protect at least 80% of immunized pigs, which retain immunity for six months.

Trial doses of NAVET-ASFVAC, a Vietnamese-made commercial vaccine against African swine fever. Photo: Duong Hung

He added that following the instruction of the Department of Animal Health, his company has filed a registration form to the Sub-Departments of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine for the African swine fever vaccine.

Hanh added that his company will hold workshops in some provinces and cities to inform farmers about this vaccine.

"Through the seminars, we want to give thorough instructions on the process of applying and preserving the vaccine. The vaccine is good, however, if the injection is not administered in accordance with our technical instructions, it may not be effective. Therefore, the injection needs to be done carefully," Hanh emphasized.

Earlier, on June 3, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the NAVET-ASFVAC vaccine produced by Vietnam's Navetco National Veterinary JSC was the first in the world to secure authorization for its commercial circulation.

"This is a milestone in the veterinary industry. With immunity lasting six months, the vaccine will be a shield for the hog-raising industry and pig production globally," Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture Phung Duc Tien said.

Over 4,000 research projects related to the disease and vaccine development have been announced, but no commercial vaccine has been available so far.

Vietnam began working on producing a vaccine in 2020 with the help of American experts.

African swine fever, one of the most devastating livestock diseases, was first detected in Vietnam in February 2019 and forced the country to cull around 20% of its hog herd last year.

The disease has cost Vietnam over VND30 trillion (US$1.29 billion) and affected 3.5 million farmers and hundreds of businesses.

It originated in Africa before spreading to Europe and Asia and has killed hundreds of millions of pigs globally. African swine fever is harmless to humans.

African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease among domestic and wild pigs and can be 100% lethal to animals. Its symptoms include high fever, loss of appetite, and bleeding on the skin and internal organs.

Not a danger to human health, yet it has catastrophic effects on pig populations and the farming economy.