January 25, 2021

 

Philippines allocates US$1.66 million for African swine fever test kits

The Philippines' Department of Agriculture said it has allocated PHP 80 million (~US$1.66 million; PHP 10 = US$0.21) for domestically produced African swine fever (ASF) test kits, ABS-CBN News reported.

 

The test kits, called ASFV Nanogold Biosensor, can identify and differentiate ASF from hog cholera and other swine viruses. It was developed by Clarissa Yvonne Domingo from the Central Luzon State University.

 

William Dar, the Philippines' Agriculture Secretary, said the ASF test kit will be used to improve biosecurity measures at livestock farms, profiling farms for repopulation, and as a surveillance and monitoring tool.

 

Dar said the test kits can be deployed at Philippines' port of entries to sample meat products entering the country.

 

According to the Department of Agriculture, the ASF test kits results are highly accurate. The kits were tested among 32 commercial and nine backyard farms in the country.

 

The department said the test kits can detect ASF even through surface swabbing of samples from swine farms and delivery trucks. The ASF virus can be detected through the kit from saliva, nasal swabs, water, feeds, feces, semen, aspirated whole blood, or blood-soaked swabs, and domestic flies.

 

The country's Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) will conduct the test for free. Private laboratories will charge PHP 3,000 (~US$62.43) per test.

 

BAI test results can be obtained within a day for priority areas, but analysis will normally take two working days.

 

Dar has ordered the Department of Agriculture to work closely with their counterparts in Vietnam to conduct clinical and field tests in the Philippines for the ASF vaccine, which was developed in Vietnam.

 

About 400,000 swine have been culled in the Philippines since the ASF outbreak was first detected in August 2019.

 

- ABS-CBN News