DA says RP still bird flu-free
by Jemin B. Guillermo
Roxas City (11 March) -- The Philippines remains a bird-flu free country, says the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Based on the latest results of the laboratory tests conducted on more than 10,000 samples of birds and fowls by DA, the country continue to be free of the dreaded avian influenza (AI) virus.
According to Regional Avian Influenza Diagnostic Laboratory (RAIDL) Chief Veterinarian Milagros Mananggit, all tests yielded negative results for the Avian Influenza agent.
Mananggit said the provincial, city and municipal veterinarians gather samples from local fowls for examination in the San Fernando laboratory, usually during the entry of migratory birds into the country from October to March and during their departure from March to April," she added.
She said that most of the samples are gathered from domestic fowls in areas frequented by migratory birds such as the Candaba Swamp in Pampanga and Paitan Lake in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija.
All birds, poultry and their products originating from Indonesia remain banned in the Philippines to keep the country AI-free, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said.
Indonesia reported the latest confirmed human death from the AI virus last Jan. 29, bringing to 224 the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of deaths from bird flu since its H5N1 strain resurfaced in Southeast Asia in 2003 and then spread across the rest of the continent, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The Philippines along with Singapore and Brunei are the only AI-free countries in Southeast Asia.
Despite the continued AI-free status of the country, the Bird Flu Task Force in Capiz continues to put in place its advocacy and awareness campaign in the various schools and barangays in the province. (DA/PIA) [top]
