LUNA, Apayao – In preparation for the opening of the Provincial Veterinary Office laboratory in Apayao, the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera conducted a hands-on training on Convection Polymerase Chain Reaction (CPCR) for African swine flu (ASF) virus detection in Baguio City.
The CPCR is a hand-held, low-cost and real-time system developed for point-of-care diagnosis of ASF virus. Without an effective vaccine to mitigate the disease, this system is of great assistance in the region’s continuing efforts to control ASF.
For 2022, it was noted that the province of Apayao is one of the most ASF-affected provinces in the region. Seemingly, to detect whether the pig is positive or negative to ASF virus, samples are being brought to DA- Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL) in Region II making the process complex.
Hence, conducting such training and setting up a lab in the province is seen to address this issue. Detection would occur on a timely basis, as prevention and control would apply.
Also performed procedures were bacterial isolation, media preparation, and fecalysis through sedimentation.
After the training, Ms. Maribel Mananguit, chemist of DA-CAR awarded a CPCR equipment to the PVO Apayao. The provision of this equipment is to strengthen the diagnostic capacity of the province in their fight against ASF. Likewise, this is in support to the province’s Executive Order No. 36 s.2022, “an order declaring a temporary total ban on the entry and transit into the province of Apayao of fresh, frozen, imported, and processed pork products and by-products from all provinces in the Philippines and the prohibition of the sale of fresh and imported pork products along the highways and in makeshift market stalls (talipapa).”
Present during the training were Dr. Ralph M. Verzon, Dr. Leitleton B. Tadena, Dr. Lei Robelle I. Domingo of PVO Apayao and Dr. Ofelia Ducayag, Dr. Meriam Micklay, Dr. Kevin Jim Luna, and Dr. Henry Gwyn Salasa of the DA-CAR RADDL and the Regulatory Division. By LDMendoza
