March 12, 2020

Philippines develops ASF test kit that's cost- and time-efficient

Scientists from the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) in the Philippines have developed a test kit for African swine fever (ASF), which cuts drastically diagnosis cost and time, BusinessMirror reported.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), which funded the project, said the test device, a nanobiosensor, is set to be launched next week.

The nanobiosensor costs only about P300 (US$5.89) compared with the P3,000 ($58.89) imported ASF test kit. It can detect the presence of the fatal hog virus in less than an hour, according to Ronnie D. Domingo, BAI officer in charge-director.

Domingo said that with the Filipino-made test kit, it will no longer be necessary to send blood samples from susceptible pigs to regional or national laboratories for testing.

"The previous outbreaks we had were detected late. [With this kit], we can start depopulation within the same day," he said.

He said on Wednesday, March 11, that the validation of the test kit started two weeks ago and that the results had so far proven accurate.

He added that the device was pilot-tested in Cebu with accurate and efficient results.

BAI has allocated P10 million ($196,165) for the reproduction of the test kits and training of veterinarians, Domingo said.

The Philippines has so far culled more than 230,000 pigs to control the spread of ASF in the country, as per the BusinessMirror report. While ASF is a fatal disease to hogs, it is not known to harm humans.