Farmscape for June 15, 2023
| Full Interview 12:36 | Listen  |
The Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center suggests the limited trial use of African Swine Fever vaccine in the Dominican Republic offers the potential to tamp down the outbreak in that nation and reduce the risk of spread to the rest of the Caribbean or North America. Vietnam has taken the lead in global testing of African Swine Fever Vaccines for safety and efficacy.
Dr. Paul Sundberg, the Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center and a member of the Swine Innovation Porc Coordinated African Swine Fever Research Working Group, says three companies in Vietnam are testing three vaccines, at least two of which are prototypes developed by USDA on Plum Island and the results so far have been very promising.
Quote-Dr. Paul Sundberg-Swine Health Information Center:
There are still some significant limitations to the use of a trial or a prototype vaccine outside of southeast Asia, outside of Vietnam and southeast Asia and part of that is production limitations and so that’s an issue. However, Vietnam and the Dominican Republic have entered into an agreement by which the Vietnamese vaccine is starting to be made available on a trial basis to a limited number of farms in the Dominican Republic to test, to see if it helps stem the outbreak on that island in that country and I think this is a significant step. It’s a very small step right now but it’s very significant in that it kind of opens up a new avenue for the regional control of African Swine Fever if this is successful.
Dr. Sundberg notes Classical Swine Fever has been on the island of Hispaniola for decades but the use of Classical Swine Fever vaccine has kept it under control and the rest of the Caribbean and North America have remained negative. He says, while past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, if we can use the Classical Swine Fever experience as an example, the introduction of African Swine Fever vaccine into the Dominican Republic could be a significant step in tamping down that outbreak and decreasing the risk of the virus moving off the island.
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