COLLEGE OF (NAME OF COLLEGE)

CAPSULE THESIS PROPOSAL

Undergraduate thesis Graduate thesis Dissertation

Student ID No. 2013303988 Course DVM

Student Name Aldrin F. Cristobal Major N/A
Department Date

Proposed Thesis Title : Prevalence of African swine fever among backyard pigs in selected
areas in the province of South Cotabato.

Significance of the Study : Swine Production is an important industry and is considered as one of the
most popular and profitable business enterprise in the field of animal
production (BAR, 2014). It plays a major role in ensuring the country’s
food security by providing about 60% of the total animal meat
consumption of Filipinos (DOST-PCAARRD, 2016). However, due to the
recent outbreaks of ASF that until now still spreading in the island of
Philippines that leads to the continuous declining of pork production. The
African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious haemorrhagic viral
disease of domestic and wild pigs, which is responsible for serious
economic and production losses. It is caused by a large DNA virus of
the Asfarviridae family, which also infects ticks of the genus Ornithodoros
(OIE, 2018). Although ASF virus is not a risk to human health but it has a
big impact in swine industry and health of animal. Thus, this study will
determine the prevalence of African Swine Fever among backyard raised
pigs in South Cotabato using serological and molecular assays, which will
help the local and regional animal health workers in monitoring and
eradication of African swine fever in Mindanao.

Hypothesis : H0: The prevalence of African swine fever among selected municipalities
in South Cotabato does not vary significantly in relation to location.

Ha: The prevalence of African swine fever among selected municipalities

in South Cotabato does vary significantly in relation to location.

Objectives : General Objectives: The study aims to determine the prevalence of

African swine fever (ASF), using serological and molecular tests among
backyard raised pigs in the province of South Cotabato.

Specific Objectives:

1. To estimate the prevalence of ASF among backyard pigs of selected

municipalities in South Cotabato using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent
Assay (ELISA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

2. To compare the prevalence of ASF among backyard pigs in South

Cotabato according to location and age.

3. To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of backyard

pig raisers on African swine fever.

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Brief Methodology : A total of 144 backyard pigs, 48 pigs will be randomly selected in the
municipality of Surallah, Tampakan and Noralla. Five to ten ml of blood
samples will be aseptically collected from the anterior vena cava or
jugular vein. The collected sera will be subjected for ELISA test and PCR
for confirmatory test. Coordination and submission of necessary letters to
the city veterinary office of the province, department of agriculture and
local government units will be done before the conduct of the study. A
one-on-one interview with the pig owners will be conducted by using a
standardized questionnaire to determine their knowledge, attitudes and
practices (KAP) on African swine fever (ASF). The samples will be
preserved in closed container and transported to the College of
Veterinary Medicine Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory to perform the
necessary test. The data on prevalence estimates will be gathered and
analyzed using Chi-Square or Fisher’s Exact tests . The KAP survey will
be interpreted using the mean, median and mode.

Expected Output : Epidemiological information derived from this study will help the Region
XII and the concerned municipalities in assessing and enhancing their
current preventive and control strategies towards the eradication of the
disease.

Prepared by: Approved by:

Aldrin F.Cristobal BHASDJHFDSFAA
Karla Cristine C. Doysabas, DVM, MS, PhD
Student Name Adviser
March 5, 2021

Date Date

Schedule/Timeframe
Months
Activities A S O N D J F M A M J J
1 Thesis capsule proposal
2 Thesis capsule revisions
3 Thesis capsule approval
4 Outlining
5 Thesis outline presentation
6 Thesis outline revision/s
7 Thesis outline approval
8 IACUC approval
9 Conduct of study
10 Data consolidation, analysis,
interpretation
11 Thesis defense
12 Manuscript revisions
13 Submission of final manuscript

CMU-F-1-ACA-013 14 September 2020 Rev. 0 Page 1 of 1