GEORGE NEWS - Last week, Dr Theo de Jager of the Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai) tweeted on X that farmers were furious that the government "deliberately" kept them in the dark over a mismatch between the Biogénesis Bagó-vaccine and the SAT1 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) strain.
George Herald asked Dr Danie Odendaal, director of the Veterinary Network (V-Net) and till recently the long-time government advisor on the FMD task team, what the implications of a mismatch would be for South Africa, since the country has already administered one million doses of this vaccine since February, when they arrived in the country.
Odendaal explained that the evaluation of a vaccine's efficacy is not based on just one factor. When a non-registered vaccine is imported, it is analysed by local scientists to give an idea of its suitability, based on 10 different characteristics that are all evaluated.
"In the case of the Biogénesis vaccine, the evaluation was done by scientists on the government FMD task team and their analysis included the potency of the vaccine. On the basis of that, a conclusion was reached and recommendation made that the vaccine can indeed serve as an emergency measure for vaccination in South Africa."
The preliminary matching data was obtained from Pirbright Institute in the UK, which is doing antigenic matching for South Africa, so it is comparing the current FMD virus strains with available vaccines to determine whether a vaccine will actually protect against the specific outbreak strain. The South African Government has made it mandatory that all vaccines used must be matched at Pirbright against local strains.
Odendaal said the big challenge is now to do an after-vaccination evaluation, which is under way.
"One million of the Biogénesis doses have been administered, and I am currently doing an evaluation of efficacy of the vaccine in field conditions, which is the true test of a vaccine.
"I have received feedback from 10 private vets so far who were responsible for large numbers of vaccinations with this vaccine, and they all have said that there have been no clinical signs 21 days after vaccination. That is the period needed for immunity to build up.
"This gives us good confidence that the vaccine is effective. I am expecting input from a further 50 plus vets this week."
Feedback was also received from vets in the Southern Cape and West Coast regions. The survey is continuing in all the areas where the vaccine was administered.
Dr Danie Odendaal
Odendaal insists that the next five million doses, which Biogénesis has ready for dispatch, should be imported as soon as possible.
"In the current situation, we don't have any other options and we must not stop the momentum now. The Dollvet vaccine from Turkey will be ready only in four weeks' time. It has not been manufactured yet."
Asked about which SAT strain is responsible for the current outbreak, Odendaal said they do not know. "Feedback from the government lab in Pretoria is not being shared effectively with the vets on the ground, so we do not know."
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