THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is seeking to start large-scale trials of an Avian Influenza (AI) vaccine by March.
“The vaccine will probably come out by March… We are trying to find funding of P300 million,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. told reporters.
He added that this amount will procure about 30 million doses of the approved AI vaccine.
Last year, the DA released guidelines on the commercial use of the avian flu vaccine, with priority given to commercial farms for layer chicken, layer chicken breeders, broiler chicken breeders, free-range breeders, grandparent broiler breeders, as well as smallhold layer/native chicken, duck, game fowl, turkey, and goose farms.
Commercial broiler chicken, smallhold broiler, quail, pigeon, and exotic bird farms were ineligible.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet issued its approval for the commercial or large-scale use of any AI vaccine.
Separately, Mr. Laurel said the approval for commercial use of the African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine could come by February or March.
Only the AVAC ASF Live vaccine from Vietnam has been approved by the FDA for a limited government-controlled rollout. It has issued a Certificate of Product Registration for AVAC, valid for two years and subject to annual review.
The DA allocated P350 million to procure 600,000 doses for hog farmers initially targeted. The rollout started on Aug. 30 in Lobo, Batangas.
Some 88 municipalities across 19 provinces had active ASF cases, according to a Bureau of Animal Industry report. — Adrian H. Alternate
