A farmer sterilises her pig farm. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A vaccine against African swine fever (AFS) virus by the VietnamAcademy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) has produced initial positive outcomeson experimental scale, unveiled Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)Nguyen Xuan Cuong.
Cuongreleased the information at a conference held by the ministry on July 2 toreview research outcomes of tested vaccines and probiotics to prevent and curbAFS so far.
He notedthat the NAVETCO National Veterinary JSC and Regional Animal Health Office No.6(RAHO6) have jointly carried out several researches.
He said theRAHO6 has so far collected samples of infected pigs surviving the disease,meaning there could be a type of pig that is able to adapt to the virus. Thesample will be sent to international animal health organisations for furtherresearch.
Thesemeasures are on the right track and Vietnam is likely to soon produce thevaccine for AFS, Cuong stated.
Nguyen ThiLan, director of the VAAS, said its research teams have created a new vaccinethat has been piloted in three pig farms in Hung Yen, Ha Nam and Thai Binhprovinces.
Of the totalvaccinated animals, 16 out of 18 sows and all 15 pigs for meat are in healthycondition after two months, with some of the sows giving birth to healthypiglets. Meanwhile, all unvaccinated pigs have died of AFS virus infection.
Lan said thevaccine is tested to be safe for the animal.
Nguyen XuanDuong, head of the Department of Livestock Production, said the use ofprobiotics in animal feed and of biosafety measures could limit the spread ofAFS disease among farms.
Suchmeasures have been applied in farms with scales of up to 500 heads.
Herecommended the MARD and localities come up with policies to encourage thereplication of the probiotics and biosafety application in pig production.
The AFSdisease, first discovered in Hung Yen on February 1 this year, has to datespread to 61 provinces and cities nationwide. As a result, more than 2.9million pigs or 10 percent of the country’s pig population were culled. Therisk of future outbreaks remains high, posing a big threat to the industry.-VNA
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