One of the semi-commercial hog raisers whose animals tested positive for African Swine Fever (ASF) has said he would cease operation at the farm for now, pending the commercial availability of a vaccine against the highly contagious disease.
He may get his wish before the end of the year.
The Department of Agriculture recently announced that the first commercially available ASF vaccine will hit the market in the third quarter of 2026.
DA Assistant Secretary Arnel V. De Mesa told national media last week that the Vietnam-made AVAC live vaccines will soon be issued a commercial release certification from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
Republic Act 12308, or the Animal Industry Development and Competitiveness Act, transferred to BAI jurisdiction over veterinary drugs, products, biologics and other animal health products and devices that was previously with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This will not be the first time that the Vietnam-made vaccine will be made available to hog growers.
In late 2024, the DA procured 150,000 doses of AVAC ASF Live vaccine for the inoculation of pigs that are four weeks old and above with a recommended single-dose administration and a protective immunity period of at least five months.
At present, the vaccine has no commercial license in the country as its FDA Certificate of Product Registration under Monitored Release expired in July 2026.
The imported vaccine is not exactly the answer to the ASF problem as it is intended only for weanling and grower pigs and not for gilts, sows or boars.
Detractors also said that survival falls from 100 percent during the period 28 to 150 days after vaccination, to 40 percent at 180 days.
Use of the vaccine under present guidelines is limited only to barangays with no active case for 40 days inside Red or Pink zones.
Before this present reincarnation of the virus, Catanduanes had six towns, including Virac and Pandan where nine animals were confirmed to have ASF, in the Pink zone or buffer areas adjacent to infected areas but not affected by the virus.
According to a veterinarian from the Department of Agriculture’s Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, the other five – Bato, Baras, Gigmoto, Panganiban and Viga – are still in the Red zone despite the fact that more than 90 days have passed since the last case of infection in the area.
She said the municipalities needed to allow the Provincial Veterinary Office take blood samples from 49 hogs in 15 barangays and submit the same for testing at DA-RADDL before the latter could certify that the five towns are in the “pink” zone.
But that would be too late now, with the PVO still to determine the true extent of the outbreak pending testing of blood samples from various areas.
There are unconfirmed reports that pigs in some areas started to get sick as early as June or July 2026, a month or so before the DA confirmed the presence of ASF in three areas in Camarines Sur.
Thus, it is likely that the virus itself never really left the island since it first arrived here in late 2020.
It must have survived in the gut of humans who have consumed ASF-carrying pork and are not affected by the virus, with lax biosecurity measures at hog farms and the widespread use of swill or leftover food waste to feed their animals.
The local governments in the five towns still in the Pink zone were not exactly serious about eliminating the epidemic, with more than a year passing by before probably taking action.
On the other hand, Governor Patrick Alain Azanza’s pronouncement of his administration’s strict stance on the ban against the entry of swine and pork products is most welcome.
But both the present and past administrations would have to shoulder the blame for allowing ASF to come back for their failure to really contain the virus pursuant to existing protocols.