Arbitrarily vaccinating and expanding vaccination subject

Immediately after the report that pigs injected with the African swine fever vaccine NAVET-ASFVAC produced by Navetco Company had died, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development directed the Department of Animal Health to set up a delegation with related agencies in Binh Dinh province and Navetco Company to visit Tay Son, Tuy Phuoc, An Nhon in Binh Dinh province and Phu Yen province to inspect and handle the cause.

In Binh Dinh province, with the controlled use of vaccines under the guidance of the veterinary agency under the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the guidance of the Department of Animal Health, out of 905 doses of vaccine administered to pork pigs from July 21, 2022 at 9 pig raising facilities that are qualified for biosecurity, the vaccinated pig herds have grown and developed normally so far.

However, due to the successful results of the 905 doses of African swine fever vaccine NAVET-ASFVAC, in addition to the fear of potential outbreak of African swine fever in Binh Dinh, farmers and veterinary facilities have proposed to be provided with vaccines to self-vaccinate on all types of pigs (sows, boars, piglets and pork pigs), with a total of 4,950 vaccine doses.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the expansion of vaccination subject, the uncontrolled use of vaccines in compliance with the guidance by the veterinary agency are not in line with the direction of the Ministry as well as the guidance of the Department of Animal Health. Namely, the inappropriate vaccination on unintended subjects, vaccination without guidance and supervision of the veterinary agency has resulted in over 250 sows, boars, piglets, and pork pigs reacting poorly and dying in 66 livestock households.

According to local authorities, the number of pigs that have reacted poorly and died may be due to the fact that the herds have been previously infected with the ASF virus in the field or another infectious pathogens which were in the incubation period and have not exhibited any symptoms. Therefore, the livestock households and veterinary facilities could not identify the infected pigs, so when vaccinated against African swine fever with NAVET-ASFVAC, the pigs were unfortunately infected.

Through the inspection and evaluation by the Delegation from the Department of Animal Health, Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Navetco Company, the number of pigs that die after vaccination have been reduced and remained under controll. Live vaccinated pigs will exhibit an immune response, so the number of deaths will decrease and may stop in the near future.

However, in the short term, Navetco Company commits to support 2 million VND per sow, boar and 1 million VND per pork pig that dies due to vaccination, in addition to supporting drugs and supplements for symptom treatment as well as improving the condition of pigs that react after vaccination.

Binh Dinh province has stopped vaccination to focus on gathering accurate statistics regarding the number of pigs that react and die in order to provide timely support. The province has also organized general cleaning, disinfection and decontamination to handle outbreaks; direct and warn farmers not to sell sick or dead pigs and handle them according to the instructions by the veterinary agency. Furthermore, Binh Dinh will continue to monitor, supervise and take samples from pigs that react or die after vaccination to determine the cause. More importantly, the province will recalled all vaccines that have been provided by Navetco for management and storage at the Binh Dinh Provincial Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine.

Phu Yen Province was not selected nor included in the directive documents by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the guidance of the Department of Animal Health. However, from August 4 to August 17, 2022, farmers in in Phu Hoa, Song Hinh, Tay Hoa, Tuy An districts and Dong Hoa town bought 36 vials of vaccine, which is equivalent to 900 doses of vaccine, to vaccinate their pigs without guidance and supervision from the veterinary agency.

Namely, grassroots veterinary facilities and farmers vaccinated on a total of 609 pigs aged 2 months and up from 45 households. Subsequently, 542 of which (accounting for 89% of the total vaccinated pigs) reacted to the vaccine, and 297 of them died (accounting for 49%); 245 pigs are being treated for symptoms and recovering. The delegation from the Department of Animal Health will continue to coordinate with the province to assess the situation, guide and provide support measures to handle arising problems, as well as prevent and control diseases.

Reviewing local and corporate responsibility

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has reviewed and warned Navetco Company as well as local specialized agencies who did not comply with the direction by the Ministry and the guidance of the Department of Animal Health.

The major issues include the expansion of vaccination subjects without guidance and supervision by veterinary agencies, inappropriate vaccination of pigs with the African swine fever NAVET-ASFVAC vaccine.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed Navetco to cooperate with localities to complete funding support and handle cases of dead pigs before August 31, 2022. Navetco should also pause the deployment of African swine fever NAVET-ASFVAC vaccine to focus resources on dealing with problems arising in Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and other localities, if any.

In addition, Navetco needs to urgently review and determine the causes and abnormalities in the process of using the ASF vaccine including the preservation, transportation, supply, organization of vaccination in the field; and timely prepare a full and accurate report on the situation of supply, use and monitorr after vaccination in accordance with the direction by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the guidance of the Department of Animal Health.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces to postpone the vaccination of pigs to focus on gathering accurate statistics regarding the number of pigs that respond and die in order to provide timely support; Conduct general cleaning, disinfection and decontamination to control outbreaks; Direct and warn farmers not to sell sick or dead pigs, and handle them according to the instructions by the veterinary agency.

The provinces should also continue to monitor, supervise and take samples from pigs that react poorly or die after vaccination to determine the cause; Timely report fully and accurately on the situation of use and monitor after vaccination; review and clarify the responsibility of the concerned collectives and individuals involved in the matter.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also requested units under the Department of Animal Health to review and re-evaluate the quality of vaccines used in different localities; Conduct in-depth testing and analysis (sick pig samples, post-vaccination pigs, vaccine samples, etc.) to establish a basis and draw a conclusion regarding the exact cause.

These units are also advised to coordinate, support and guide localities and Navetco Company to overcome problems where the vaccines were deployed and the pigs reacted poorly; Urgently synthesize and report fully on the situation of using African swine fever NAVET-ASFVAC vaccine in all localities to report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development before August 27, 2022.

Navetco Central Veterinary Medicine Joint Stock Company provided over 22,000 doses of NAVET-ASFVAC African swine fever vaccine to 19 provinces and cities from the beginning of July to August 24, 2022, to organize vaccination for local pig herds and businesses. So far, the pig herds in selected localities are healthy and developed well, except for several unexpected cases in Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces when vaccination is carried out without the supervision by veterinary authorities and vaccine suppliers.

Translated by Nguyen Hai Long