The trainee shows the blood samples she successfully collected from a pig, as one of the course requirements.
ILOILO, Western Visayas – Sixty-four selected livestock technicians contributed to sustain the “ASF-free Western Visayas” by attending the Training on Specimen Collection for Barangay Biosecurity Officers (BBOs) in the five districts of Iloilo Province this March 2022.
They were trained on collecting specimens for laboratory testing, appropriate handling of specimen and restraining technique, and preparation of animals for collection. Moreover, they will be deputized as Biosecurity Officers and conduct regular farm visits in the barangays for ASF surveillance, health monitoring & farm compliance with biosecurity protocols under the supervision of the PVO/CVO/MAO.
“African swine fever does not always manifest itself with the entire set of clinical signs. Clinical diagnosis can be difficult during the early stages of the disease, or when small numbers of animals are affected. Diagnosing ASF is often speculative, for symptoms may be confused with those of other diseases and/or conditions. No diagnosis is conclusive until confirmed by the laboratory.” said Dr. Lerisa E. Balopenos, Chief of the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL), during her lecture.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jonic F. Natividad, Chief of Regulatory Division and Team Leader of ASF Task Force in Region 6 in his lecture stressed that for the “Bantay ASF sa Barangay Program” to succeed, all local government units and stakeholders must be engaged in the surveillance, monitoring and area risk assessment that include mapping and geotagging of all farms in the barangay.
Dr. Darel B. Tabuada, Iloilo Provincial Veterinarian explained the guidelines in the regulation of animal movement and control of disease during his lecture. “ASF prevention program must include the strategies on the creation of the ASF Task Force, strict implementation of border control, information and education campaign, and backyard farm-based biosecurity measures,” he further mentioned.
Some of BBOs’ duties and responsibilities include the conduct of farm and area biosecurity evaluation and assessment, sample collection, and weekly ASF negative monitoring reports.
