CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Governor Lilia Pineda on Monday, August 14, urged local mayors and stakeholders in the poultry industry to maximize resources in unified efforts to combat the avian flu outbreak in San Luis.
She added that there should now be a campaign to erase doubts on the safety of eating poultry products from Pampanga areas not affected by the bird flu. She added that the phobia coupled by the overreaction on the said outbreak would only mean more loses for Pampanga's poultry industry and would inadvertently stigmatize products coming from the province.
"We must show the people that eating poultry products from Pampanga is safe," Governor Pineda said, as he urged local mayors to look into their respective poultry industries and compel owners to have their stocks checked in order to obtain clearances and shipping permits that the products are bird flu-free from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
It could be recalled that 37,000 birds have died from avian influenza subtype H5 in what has been declared as the first bird flu outbreak in the country. The outbreak affected six poultry farms in San Luis town. A quarantine area was declared within one-kilometer of the affected poultry farms in San Luis. Transport of fowls and eggs from a controlled area within a seven-kilometer radius of the affected farms will not be allowed.
As for the seven-kilometer controlled area, Governor Pineda urged the mayors concerned to submit immediately to the BAI 30 samples from each farms for testing. This is to expedite the effort determining if the outbreak has not spread into the said areas. She said that this would hasten the process and would enable the BAI to make recommendations whether to clear these farms out of the controlled zone.
This, as poultry raises in the said controlled areas would not be able to sell or move their products. Governor Pineda said that the faster that the BAI could do its job, the better for Pampanga to resume its poultry industry business. She said that they will be providing all the help for BAI as well as the kits needed to obtain samples from the farms concerned.
Governor Pineda also asked the stakeholders not to be carried away by fake reports on the internet and by people who are blowing the issue out of proportion.