Philippines logs new ASF cases

MANILA, Philippines — African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to spread across the Philippines, with 250 new cases reported nationwide.

In separate follow-up reports submitted to the World Organization for Animal Health, the Philippines reported 199 new ASF cases in the Visayas and Mindanao as well as 51 in Luzon.

Based on the reports, outbreaks are ongoing in the provinces of Leyte and Northern Samar, both in the Visayas.

In Mindanao, provinces with ongoing outbreaks include Agusan del Norte, Misamis Oriental, North Cotabato and Surigao del Sur.

Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Ifugao, Isabela, Marinduque, Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and Quezon are among provinces in Luzon with ongoing cases.

The newly reported cases brought the total number of infections to 10,068 since the virus was first detected in the country in 2019.

Luzon accounts for a majority of the infections with 8,634 cases.

The Visayas and Mindanao logged 1,434 cases.

Meanwhile, the report showed that a total of 1,309 hogs in Luzon have died from the virus, while 414,639 were killed and disposed of to prevent the spread of the disease.

Hog mortality due to the virus in the Visayas and Mindanao was at 5,821. Over 66,650 were killed and disposed of.

Earlier, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) coordinated with Universal Robina Corp. and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand to conduct a clinical study on a vaccine against ASF.

Once the vaccine, which was developed in Thailand, proves successful, Dar said he would recommend to the government to vaccinate the entire Philippine hog population.

The BAI said the first phase of the vaccine trial was conducted from Feb. 10 to May 6 at the Robina Farms in San Miguel, Bulacan.

It said the clinical study was intended to evaluate the safety and determine the ability of the vaccine to induce immune responses.

“The vaccine can be stored in a wide range of temperatures and has a shelf life of around two to six months. In the trial, no clinical signs associated with ASF disease were observed and minimal non-ASF-related mortality was posted,” the BAI said.

Sixty-six percent of the sample animals have detectable antibodies to the virus, it added.

“With the encouraging results of Phase 1 of the vaccine trial, a Phase 2 is being proposed that will run from May to June. This will involve actual viral challenge of vaccinated animals,” the BAI said.