At a recent ASF seminar in Hanoi, Nguyen Van Thanh, a representative of the Hoa My Livestock cooperative, noted that pig farmers are aware that biosecurity alone will not protect against ASF, but they do not yet trust vaccination. This applies in particular to the Dabaco vaccine, which was officially approved for commercial use in March this year, as well as the more widely used AVAC ASF Live.
Farmers are afraid of risks — even large producers are in no hurry to vaccinate, fearing possible epidemiological consequences. In addition, two different strains of ASF virus are circulating in Vietnam, and pig farmers lack information about which strain threatens their region in order to choose the appropriate vaccine.
According to Nguyen Van Thanh, vaccine manufacturers should provide more information about their products, clear recommendations for use, and introduce compensation mechanisms for farms that have followed the rules but suffered losses.
‘When we have clear and transparent information, support and guarantees, farmers will be willing to vaccinate to protect their animals and the entire industry,’ he said.
AVAC Vietnam also confirmed that caution among pig farmers — even large ones — remains. The main reasons are doubts about the reliability of vaccines and uncertainty about the potential consequences.
ASF in the region: the situation is escalating
While pig farmers in Vietnam are weighing the pros and cons of vaccination, ASF is spreading rapidly in Asia:
- Sri Lanka has declared the entire country a risk or infection zone. Since 13 June, a three-month quarantine regime has been in place, restricting the transport of live pigs, meat and pork products, and prohibiting the slaughter of sick animals and market activities.
- India, Assam State: the disease has become endemic, with mass slaughter of pigs. The reasons are a lack of information for farmers and inadequate biosecurity measures.
- Philippines: new cases of ASF have been detected in Surigao Norte province (Caraga region). The affected settlements are under control, and disinfection, carcass removal and testing are ongoing.
- South Korea: over the past few weeks, five more wild boars infected with ASF have been detected.
- Taiwan: Following an ASF case in a dead animal on Kinmen Island, located near the Chinese province of Fujian, the authorities have lifted restrictions on the movement of pigs. Taiwan continues to be officially considered an ASF-free territory without vaccination.
Europe: Outbreaks continue, but a summer decline is observed
According to the European Commission (as of 18 June), there have already been 245 ASF outbreaks among domestic pigs in 10 countries in 2025. By comparison, there were 764 outbreaks in 16 countries throughout 2024.
Romania and Moldova are currently leading in terms of the number of new cases — 163 and 35, respectively. In Romania, the latest outbreaks have been recorded on large industrial farms with more than 3,000 animals, as well as on smallholdings.
The situation with wild boars is even more alarming: in 2025, 6,721 outbreaks of ASF have already been confirmed among this population in 17 countries in Europe. Poland remains the leader (2,310 cases), followed by Germany (1,563), Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania and Italy.
Recently, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) became the sixth region where ASF was detected among wild pigs.
Conclusion
The ASF situation remains tense in both Asia and Europe. Although vaccine development is progressing rapidly, the spread of the disease, farmers' mistrust and the lack of systematic support are key barriers to effectively containing the epidemic.
PigUA.info based on materials from feedstrategy.com