THE Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has temporarily banned the movement of live domestic and wild birds and their products from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao amid the reported Avian Influenza outbreak in Pampanga.
In a memorandum circular issued Friday, the BAI said included in the ban are" poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, semen and manure."
It said no movement of these products from Pampanga to other parts of Luzon will be allowed "to prevent prevent further spread of the disease in other parts of Luzon and to Visayas and Mindanao."
The BAI said that movement of fresh, frozen meat, eggs and other uncooked poultry products may be allowed within Luzon island, "provided this is outside of the seven-kilometer radius control area of the outbreak site in Pampanga."
The outbreak was reported in San Luis town in Pampanga. The Department of Agriculture said earlier that it will cull about 200,000 chickens to contain the outbreak.
"The movement of these fresh, uncooked poultry products must be accompanied by a shipping permit and a health certificate issued by a government sector veterinarian certifying that these products were sourced from farms with no incidence of avian influenza for the past 21 days prior to shipment," said the BAI.
The Department of Health is also closely monitoring the events surrounding the outbreak.
It said it has stepped up the human flu like-illness surveillance and will now look for human cases who may have been exposed to avian flu strain in affected areas.
"Any person who becomes sick with fever and/or sore throat/cough and had exposure to these dead chickens should report to the local health center or nearest hospital for laboratory confirmation," said the DOH.
The agency assured the public though that properly cooked chicken remains safe to eat. (SunStar Philippines)