June 24, 2008

Philippine swine industry worries on unidentified hog disease

The local hog industry is threatened by an unidentified disease that similarly wiped out 30 percent of the backyard hog industry and 20 percent of commercial hog farmers.

The National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. (NFHFI), led by officials Gabriel Uy and Alex Reyes said the government should put a well-equipped diagnostic laboratory  that could quickly and positively identify the virus that can severely affect the still recovering swine industry.

Uy and Reyes said the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has not yet definitively identified the virus that almost obliterated the country's swine farms last year.

According the officials, the delay and failure to verify the specific virus resulted in a "hit or miss" approach in controlling the disease and the proper vaccine/antigen is yet to be secured at that time.

The hog sector, warns Uy and Reyes, is still very vulnerable without the necessary laboratory facility to accurately identify the virus and secure the right vaccine.

While the BAI has an existing laboratory, Uy and Reyes revealed, the laboratory equipment and facilities are very outdated.

A new facility would only cost around P30 million or more than US$600,000, of which funds could be sourced from the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF).

The disease is suspected to be the "blue ear" or Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRSS), the officials said.

A definitive identification of the specific viral strain could be made if a sample is sent to Plum Island in the United States.

Unfortunately, the necessary identification is still not being done by the DA-BAI, Uy and Reyes said.