Technical mastery offered with nation’s ASF vaccine production

Technical mastery offered with nation’s ASF vaccine production

Alongside research and production of vaccines to prevent African swine fever, Vietnam is increasingly mastering the necessary technology and exporting products to other markets.

In the first half of 2025, 260 outbreaks were reported, with the number of pigs culled falling by around 80 per cent on-year, to just over 11,000. This positive development was attributed to coordinated solutions such as biosafety farming, hygiene, disinfection, and vaccination.

Vietnam’s vaccines for ASF are gaining the trust of domestic and international users, Photo: Thaco

Although the epidemic is largely under control, concerns remain, particularly around the low vaccination rate. To help address this, a roundtable on African swine fever (ASF) vaccines and how to build farmer trust was held last week.

Phan Quang Minh, deputy director of the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MoAE), said Vietnam’s vaccine had been successfully developed and deployed over the past two years.

During 2019–2020, ASF spread widely, causing significant damage to the country’s livestock industry. However, since 2023 the situation has markedly improved, with cases now limited mainly to small-scale farms lacking biosecurity measures. Currently, only around 120 outbreaks remain in 16 provinces and cities that have not yet passed the 21-day safety threshold.

“In 2022, ASF vaccines were officially licensed for use in Vietnam. Since then, vaccination has been gradually implemented and is now widespread across the country,” Minh said.

He estimated that, to date, around seven million doses had been produced, of which four million had been distributed domestically. Nearly one million more had been exported to other countries to support epidemic prevention efforts.

About 35,000 livestock households across 45 provinces and cities have now used the vaccine. Coverage is nearly nationwide, although vaccination levels vary by locality.

Vietnam is the first country in the world to successfully research, produce, and commercialise a vaccine against ASF. Three types have now been licensed for domestic use and early-stage exports to several Southeast Asian markets.

Vu Dang Dong, director of the Dabaco Veterinary Diagnostic Centre, shared details of the company’s progress at the roundtable.

Dabaco’s development process was deployed under strict biosafety conditions in a level-3 laboratory. In February, the company’s vaccine was approved for commercial use by the MoAE’s Department of Animal Health.

“In the early stages, we faced numerous challenges. But thanks to close cooperation with state agencies and strong support from our own and affiliated farms, the trials succeeded,” Dong said. “Now, in addition to domestic demand, we are negotiating with international partners, including the Philippines, to expand into overseas markets.”

Nguyen Van Diep, general director of drugmaker AVAC, said the company’s ASF LIVE vaccine was licensed for commercial use in 2023. Prior to that, the vaccine underwent extensive testing and compliance procedures with state agencies, including trials at nearly 600 farms.

AVAC is also working with foreign partners in countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia. The vaccine was approved in the Philippines last year, followed by the export of 120,000 doses to Indonesia.

The ASF LIVE vaccine has now met international regulations and is expected to be recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health. In just under three years since licensing, AVAC has distributed around three million doses domestically and exported 600,000.

Minh reiterated that three types of ASF vaccines have now been commercially approved and exported to Southeast Asian markets.

“All of them went through a rigorous evaluation process – even more stringent than usual – given that this was the country’s first attempt at developing a vaccine for the disease,” Minh said. “International experts, including those from the United States, were consulted in the early stages to ensure safety, efficacy, and sterility.”

Evaluation results indicated that all approved vaccines were safe and had no significant impact on animal health. While the minimum required protection rate is 80 per cent, most of Vietnam’s vaccines achieved protection levels of 97–99 per cent in clinical trials. The MoAE has urged farmers to buy licensed vaccines only from authorised suppliers and avoid counterfeit products.

VIR