The GF-TADs Lome Declaration (2025) on vaccines and vaccination against African Swine Fever

Recognising that :

1. There are currently no ASF vaccines that fully meet the WOAH international standards for safety, efficacy, purity, and prior licensing.
2. DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) compatible and next-generation vaccines are essential for traceability, safety and long-term protection. DIVA capability is not available in any of the currently licensed vaccines, complicating disease surveillance and control post-vaccination.
3. Any future use of the vaccine candidate should be based on a thorough risk benefit assessment considering all safety and efficacy features as well as the vaccination scenarios envisaged.
4. Vaccination effectiveness should be evaluated based on performance in real-field settings and preferably with involvement of independent technical institutions.
5. Live attenuated vaccines (LAVs) are currently the most promising ASF vaccine candidates, offering protection against homologous strains, but exhibiting very limited cross-protection against genetically distinct variants.
6. All currently licensed vaccines are based on genotype II, whereas the Africa region hosts 24 distinct genotypes.
7. Reversion to virulence and recombination risks are real and documented and may have a continental and global impact. Field monitoring and genomic surveillance in line with international standards are critical to detect and mitigate these risks.

    as and when ASF vaccines are made available:

• Member(s) Countries/States should monitor for, and ensure that only vaccines registered for use, and that meet WOAH standards are used within their territories.
• Member(s) Countries/States to ensure mechanisms in place for field evaluation and vaccination monitoring based on guidance provided by AU-IBAR, AU-PANVAC, FAO and WOAH and should refrain from such evaluations until such regional and international guidance is available.
• Member(s) Countries/States note that vaccination can be counterproductive in settings with poor biosecurity (which increases the risk of virus circulation and hampers data reliability) and in lack of untraceable pig populations
• Member(s) Countries/States should recognise that vaccination strategies complement, and must not replace, strong biosecurity and other complementary ASF control measures. Implementation requires controlled vaccination areas and strict Veterinary Authority supervision.
• Veterinary authorities of Member(s) Countries/States should oversee vaccinations, based on knowledge of ASF disease spread and ASFV sequencing.
• Member(s) Countries/States implement well defined official control programmes rather than voluntary vaccinations without monitoring by the authorities.

Adopted and endorsed on 14 October 2025 in Lomé, Togo