The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has earmarked an initial 10,000 doses of African swine fever (ASF) vaccine for the Cordillera region’s hogs.
Dr. Kevin Luna, regulatory chief of the Livestock Division of the Department of Agriculture (DA)-CAR said that the initial 10,000 doses are for a test rollout of the vaccine, which will be rapidly expanded on if it proves successful.
“We are in the testing process of the vaccine. It was done in Southern Luzon and we hope to participate to see the viability of the vaccine in our area considering factors like environment, which is also contributory to the health of animals,” he said.
The vaccine will be rolled out in areas with no active ASF cases for at least 40 days, or those with negative ASF surveillance results in red and pink zones.
The vaccine comes at a time when ASF has had a significant resurgence among the local pig populace.
In 2024, the region saw 214 ASF cases across 96 villages, almost quadruple the previous year’s ASF incidence, leading to the mass culling of hogs to prevent the disease from spreading.
