Surveillance and detection of African swine fever on abbatoir in different municipalities of third district of Cagayan, Philippines
Paper Details
Surveillance and detection of African swine fever on abbatoir in different municipalities of third district of Cagayan, Philippines
Abstract
African Swine Fever (ASF), driven by the African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), persistently undermines the Philippine swine industry, characterized by its significant transmissibility, resilience in the environment, and the lack of an available vaccine. This investigation carried out active monitoring in abattoirs across five municipalities in the 3rd District of Cagayan, Philippines, to determine the ASFV infection in slaughtered pigs and analyze the slaughter facilities’ contribution to disease spread. Two hundred thirty nine (239) whole blood samples were systematically collected and organized into 92 groups, subsequently analyzed for ASFV utilizing real-time PCR techniques. The findings indicated a positivity rate of 29.35%, with 27 pooled samples (70 individual pigs) yielding positive results. The highest positivity rate was observed in Solana at 9.78%, with Tuao and Amulung at 6.52%, Tuguegarao at 4.35%, and Peñablanca at 2.17%. All five towns displayed confirmed ASFV, which emphasizes slaughterhouses as possible ASF sources particularly in areas with low pre-slaughter screening and poor biosecurity. These findings suggest that infected pigs may have acquired the virus on farms before being delivered to slaughterhouses. The findings support the need of more stringent biosecurity rules, improved farm-level screening, public education among backyard hog raisers, and legislative laws to stop sick pigs from finding their way into slaughter and market chains. ASF control and eradication in Cagayan depend critically on strengthening surveillance and inspection processes at slaughterhouses.
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Maricel F. Campanano, John Michael M. Melad, Mary Ann M. Santos*, 2026. Surveillance and detection of African swine fever on abbatoir in different municipalities of third district of Cagayan, Philippines. J. Biodiv. Environ. Sci., 28(4), 65-72.
Copyright © 2026 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.