PVO research services boost lab personnel capabilities

By: Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The laboratory services of the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) in Negros Occidental has improved to 7.87 percent in 2018.

In a press release, the PVO said they attributed the improvement to the enhanced research services and advanced technical knowledge and capabilities of the personnel specifically assigned in research and laboratory.

The procurement and availability of state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and facilities also contributed to the office’s improvement in their services.

The PVO Research and Laboratory Division is divided into three sections:

-Diagnostic Section, which comprises parasitology, virology, hematology/serology, selected blood chemistry analysis and pathology; 

-Clinics and Research Section, which caters to consultation, treatment and vitamin supplementation as well as research studies related to livestock and poultry; and

-Feed and Meat Laboratory, which performs feed and meat analyses.

In April 2019, PVO records showed that 5,984 analyses were performed and 3,437 clients were served by the laboratory personnel.

These laboratory works include the fecalysis, complete blood count, antibiotic sensitivity test, necropsy, direct fluorescent antibody test for rabies diagnosis, and selected blood chemistry analyses from samples collected and delivered from the six district field units of PVO and walk-in clients.  

For the feed and meat laboratory services, PVO had served 110 clients and conducted 220 feed analyses and 20 microbial count on meat analyses.

The services also cater to requests from livestock and poultry raisers to ensure that the feeds and feedstuff for their animals are in good quality, and that the meat and meat products being sold in the market are safe and hygienic. 

It also performs soil analysis which is vital for the enhancement of soil condition to ensure feeds nutritional values that could support nutritional needs of animals. 

The office has also rendered technical assistance to five schools for students research and experiments.

At present, the selected research and laboratory personnel are engaged in different field of research aligned with the Negros First priority agenda on food security program which primarily focus on disease prevention and control as well as in furtherance of the livestock and poultry industry in the province.  

PVO head Renante Decena said he is positive that the technical capabilities of the personnel to carry out their current assignments effectively with advance facilities and equipment available will likely continue to grow significantly for the coming years ahead.