PIB TrackerIndia develops its own African Swine Fever vaccine
ICAR dedicated an indigenous vaccine against a disease that kills up to 100% of infected pigs and has spread across states since 2020, hitting smallholder farmers hardest in the North East.
What happened
- ICAR developed an indigenous African Swine Fever vaccine, dedicated on ICAR Foundation Day.
- ASF is a trans-boundary animal disease with mortality approaching 100 per cent.
- It was first detected in India in 2020 and has spread to several states and UTs.
- Smallholder pig farmers in the North-Eastern region have been worst hit.
- There had been no effective treatment or vaccine until now.
For Prelims
- African Swine Fever (ASF): a viral trans-boundary disease of pigs; high fever, haemorrhages, mortality near 100%; no cure existed.
- Not zoonotic: ASF does not infect humans — the loss is economic and to livelihoods.
- India timeline: first detected in 2020; spread to several states, hitting the North East hardest.
- Developer: the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), dedicated on ICAR Foundation Day.
- Why it matters globally: no widely deployed ASF vaccine has existed anywhere, so India could become an affordable global supplier.
- Related framework: the National Animal Disease Control Programme and WOAH disease-free zoning.
For UPSC: A livestock and biotechnology item. Use it for animal health and trans-boundary disease control, veterinary vaccine self-reliance, the pig economy of the North East, and India's role as a vaccine supplier to the global South.
What it is NOT: African Swine Fever does not infect humans — this is an animal-health and livelihood measure, not a public health vaccine.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.13 · GS3.4 · Linkage L2
Anchor
A disease with no cure anywhere finally meets an Indian vaccine.
Substantiation (data)
ICAR's indigenous ASF vaccine against a virus with mortality approaching 100 per cent, present in India since 2020 and spread across several states.
Exemplification
The North East, where pig rearing anchors the rural economy, has borne the heaviest livelihood losses from outbreaks and movement restrictions.
Problematisation
A vaccine still needs cold chain, mass immunisation capacity and surveillance to convert into disease control on the ground.
Way-forward
Scale manufacturing, integrate with the National Animal Disease Control Programme, and pursue disease-free zoning for pig exports.
Position
Veterinary science is development policy — livestock disease is a livelihood question before it is a scientific one.
Deploys into: Biotechnology + agriculture (GS3.13, GS3.4) · trans-boundary animal disease, veterinary vaccine self-reliance, and the pig economy of the North East.
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare · 2026-08-04 · PRID 2294280 · PIB source ↗