DA rolls out 1st gov’t-controlled vaccination vs. ASF in Batangas

By Stephanie Sevillano, Philippine News Agency

As of August 21, the BAI said 66 villages in Batangas have been designated red zones, or those with active ASF cases. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA – The Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI) on Friday rolled out the first government-controlled vaccination against African swine fever (ASF) in Lobo, Batangas, five years after the onset of ASF outbreak in the Philippines in 2019.

In an interview, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said starting the rollout of the 10,000 doses of emergency-procured ASF AVAC live vaccines is a realization of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s statement during his third State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“Naisakatuparan natin ngayon ang isa sa mga pangako ng ating Pangulo na magsisimula immediately iyong pagpapabakuna (We have fulfilled today the promises of our President to immediately launch the vaccine rollout),” he said, following the initial vaccination of 41 hogs in two backyard farms in Brgy. Malapad na Parang.

“Ito iyong hudyat at sunod-sunod na ito (This signals the continuous vaccination) from Lobo, it will cover the whole of Batangas. At inaasahan natin yung ibang lugar, lalo na yung mga maraming cases ngayon ay susunod na rin (And we are expecting other areas, especially those with high number of cases, will follow),” de Mesa said.

Lobo was one of the first towns in Batangas which declared a state of calamity due to ASF resurgence earlier this month.

As of August 21, the BAI said 66 villages in Batangas have been designated red zones, or those with active ASF cases.

Vicente Manalo, a hog raiser in Lobo, was optimistic as his growers got the ASF live vaccines.

“Importante po dahil, unang-una po sa lahat, safe din iyong baboy ko. Tapos, iyong pati iyong mga kukuha, alam na safe din. Kaysa, hindi po natin alam kung may tama ba o wala (This is important because first of all, my hogs are safe. Likewise, those who will order will know that their livestock will be safe. This is better than not knowing if our hogs are infected or not),” he said.

Strict monitoring

DA Assistant Secretary for Swine and Poultry Constante Palabrica, meanwhile, assured strict monitoring among newly-vaccinated hogs.

“On the 14th day, ay kukunan ng dugo at i-analyze kung ito ay nag-produce ng (we will conduct a blood sampling and analyze if it was able to produce an) antibody. And then, regularly, itse-check natin ang kondisyon ng mga baboy (we will check the status of hogs),” he said.

Palabrica said this will help vaccinated growers and fatteners to fight the ASF.

“Pagka-nabakunahan, magpu-produce ng antibody iyong mga baboy. Kapag pumasok muli dito sa ganitong farm, iyong virus, ay may panlaban na ang baboy laban sa (Once vaccinated, the hogs will produce an antibody. If the virus reenters these farms, the hogs can now fight the) ASF,” he said.

Besides areas in Lobo, de Mesa said the DA-BAI will roll its validation procedures to include all qualified farms in ring areas of Lobo, other towns in Batangas, and eventually red zones in the Calabarzon Region.

The DA reiterated that pigs that will be vaccinated must be healthy, negative for ASF, at least four weeks or older, of the same age group within a farm, and with a minimum of 50 pigs per farm or cluster.

To date, 458 villages in 15 regions are now under red zones, with the highest number of affected barangays reported in North Cotabato with 87, Occidental Mindoro with 69, Batangas, and Quezon with 47.