Project Leader	Nozawa Tomoharu (Kyoto University, Graduate School of Agriculture)
Research Project	Evaluation of bovine leukemia virus detection systems and effects of painting with zebralike striping to avoid biting flies that carry BLV in the Philippines
Countries of Study	Philippines

Outline of Research

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV), transmitted by blood-sucking insects, causes bovine leukemia. There is no effective vaccine or treatment for this deadly disease, which causes economic losses to the livestock and meat industries. In the Philippines, there is a need for clarification of the prevalence of BLV and countermeasures to combat the disease, but due to a lack of local testing equipment and reagents, the status of the spread of BLV has not been clarified. This study will conduct molecular biological detection of BLV in Philippine cattle to evaluate the infection status.

Purpose of Research, Its Significance and Expected Results, etc

In the Southeast Asian region, including the Philippines, various animal infectious diseases have caused tremendous damage to the livestock and meat industries, especially bovine leukemia caused by bovine leukemia virus (BLV). In addition, there is no effective vaccine or treatment for bovine leukemia caused by the bovine leukemia virus (BLV), and the economic loss is great because all cattle that develop the disease are discarded and cannot be used for food. However, the status of BLV infection in the Philippines is unknown due to a lack of testing equipment and reagents. For these reasons, we strongly felt the need to investigate the infection status and countermeasures against BLV infection through the detection of BLV, which inspired this study. The purpose of this study is to examine the detection of BLV in Philippine cattle and to investigate the infection status. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the reduction of economic losses due to bovine leukemia in the Philippines, based on the results of the study on the detection of BLV in cattle raised on Philippine farms and the investigation of the infection status of BLV.