Peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), on Sunday, April 3, urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to “work double time” to address the ongoing Avian Influenza (AI) or bird flu outbreak in the Philippines, reiterating that the country has yet to recover from the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak that began in 2019.
“Every effort must be made to contain the spread of bird flu. We do not want another outbreak as large-scale as the ASF which severely affected local producers and consumers,” said KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos.
In a press statement, Ramos said that the bird flu outbreak “could affect the local supply and prices of poultry products” in the Philippines which has already increased over the past months.
“The DA confirmed outbreaks of the (HPAI) type A subtype H5N1 in Central Luzon farms and some parts of Camarines Sur. Confirmed H5N1 infections have also been detected in the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Tarlac, Sultan Kudarat, and Benguet,” said KMP.
DA, on the other hand, declared the bird flu outbreak in the Philippines on March 30, 2022. It likewise urged the public to report suspected cases of the avian flu to control and prevent the spread of the virus.