The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Department of Agriculture has coordinated with concerned local government units (LGUs) and veterinary personnel to contain avian influenza (bird flu) found in duck and quail farms in Bulacan and Pampanga.
“We immediately carried out the needed protocol to effectively contain avian influenza that was detected in ducks and quails in Baliuag, Bulacan, and Candaba and Mexico in Pampanga — aimed mainly at preventing it from spreading to other areas,” DA Sec. William Dar said in a statement issued on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
Using a Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test, the DA-BAI detected the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 strain in its Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory (BAI-ADDRL).
DA-BAI Director Reildrin Morales said that upon detection, the agency and veterinary authorities properly disposed of all birds in affected farms, adding that no chickens and turkeys caught the flu.
To avoid the risk of the disease’s transmission to humans, the DA-BAI also conducted a disease investigation, surveillance in the one-kilometer quarantine zone around the infected farms, and informed LGUs of the provinces and the Department of Health (DOH).
Morales said they detected the first case of the disease on Jan. 6 in a duck farm in Brgy. Barangka, Baliuag, Bulacan.
The second case was found in two commercial quail farms, in Brgy. Dalayap, Candaba, Pampanga and a quail farm, in Brgy. Mangga, Candaba, Pampanga on Jan. 21 and 27.
The third case appeared on Feb. 11 in two adjacent quail farms in Brgy. San Antonio, Mexico, Pampanga.
Meanwhile, Dar reminded poultry raisers to observe necessary biosecurity measures and cooperate with temporary movement restrictions to prevent the incursion of the disease in their facilities or farms.
“We assure the general public that the risk to catch H5N1 virus is very low. Poultry meat and its products are safe to eat,” he added.