Associate Professor Phillip A. Alviola of the Animal Biology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences has been appointed as one of the members of the World Health Organization (WHO) Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) in November 2021. Established by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom, the SAGO’s main function is to provide advice on the global framework to the study of emerging novel pathogens, such as the SARS-Cov-2 virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic. Assoc. Prof. Alviola is the only Filipino scientist among the 27 SAGO members who were selected to represent a broad range of disciplines relevant to pathogens.
Assoc. Prof. Alviola’s expertise is on bats, which are known to be carriers of viruses that are zoonotic or can be transmitted from animals to humans. Since 2007, he has conducted fieldwork in various parts of the Philippines. He and his team not only identify the various bat species found in each locality, but also collect swabs and fecal samples. These samples are then sent out to Japan for sequencing to detect viruses. So far, Alviola’s team has found 12 species of Philippine bats that are positive for zoonotic viruses, such as bat coronaviruses which are related to the SARS-Cov-2. Bat coronaviruses were, in fact, detected in some bats in Los Baños, Laguna as reported in one of his papers published in 2010.
Because of his extensive research on bats and viruses, Alviola is also part of the UPLB Program for Zoonotic Diseases, which acts as the primary research center for the detection, prevention, and control of zoonotic diseases in the Philippines. He hopes to conduct more field surveys in unexplored areas and pathogen screening of livestock and heavily-traded wildlife. By tracing the possible pathways by which bat viruses can infect humans in the Philippine context, Alviola’s research can help inform WHO on how we can prevent another pandemic.
Alviola’s appointment with SAGO is for two years. (Maria Eleanor Aurellado)
