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Agri dep’t pushes vaccines for bird flu, swine fever
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Agri dep’t pushes vaccines for bird flu, swine fever

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Local authorities are assessing the viability of bird flu drugs from two European countries, hoping to complete its evaluation by the end of first quarter, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said field trials are ongoing for avian influenza vaccines from Hungary and Germany.

De Mesa, also the DA’s spokesperson, said results of field trials will be presented to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) through its Veterinary Technical Advisory Committee upon its completion, which is expected by the end of this quarter.

The vaccines from Hungary and Germany will then be endorsed to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval.

Meanwhile, the DA is hoping for “favorable” results from the FDA on African swine fever (ASF) vaccines from Vietnam as controlled vaccination is ongoing.

According to de Mesa, 32,089 doses of AVAC live vaccines from Vietnam have been delivered and administered to eligible farms. Also, 160,000 doses have been shipped by the vaccine supplier.

The DA earlier said it would recommend the approval for commercial use this year of an ASF vaccine coming from Vietnam.

This forms part of the DA’s plan to roll out 490,000 doses of ASF vaccines to prevent the further spread of the disease, which has decimated the local swine population and resulted in hundreds of billions of pesos in losses since the country recorded the first outbreak in 2019.

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Moreover, the government-backed vaccination has covered 18 farms located in 11 towns across the country. The BAI is currently assessing other farms that are applying for eligibility.

Last year, the DA allowed the inoculation of pigs in ASF-free areas to address low participation in the vaccination drive. Vaccines will be administered to weanling or grower pigs.

The vaccination program had included hogs in barangays with no active ASF cases for at least 40 days and in areas previously tagged as red or pink zones but currently with no active ASF cases.

To date, the active ASF cases are recorded in 11 provinces and eight regions, according to the BAI’s bulletin as of Jan. 10.


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