THERE’S nothing to worry as measures are in place against possible entry of bird flu in Negros Occidental.
This was stressed by Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena following the confirmation of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday, March 16, that avian influenza under the highly pathogenic strain H5N6 has hit a barangay in Nueva Ecija.
Decena said there's lesser chance of acquiring the virus as the province does not source out poultry products from there.
"We have surplus in supply of poultry products including chicken so there's no movement of such commodities from the affected place going to the province," he pointed out, adding that "traditionally, there's no record that we have sourced out from there."
The DA said there's a slim chance that the virus can be transmitted to humans. H5N6 is a virus far less deadly than H5N1.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said a total of 12,000 quails from the farm have been culled and buried on March 14.
Dar said quarantine protocols have been in place in the area with a one-kilometer radius designated as a quarantine zone, while some seven kilometers beyond that will be a surveillance zone.
Farms in the said areas will be monitored but the agency will no longer cull farm populations in the quarantine areas, he added.
It can be recalled that bird flu has previously hit farms in San Luis, Pampanga and the towns of Jaen and San Isidro in Nueva Ecija in 2017.
For Negros Occidental, Decena said the province has already established guidelines on how to safeguard the P7-billion local poultry industry.
Like the African Swine Fever (ASF), he said necessary measures on preventing the entry of avian influenza are being implemented like regulating the movement of poultry products.
But to further ensure the safety of the local poultry industry, Decena said gamefowl raisers must avoid going to Luzon particularly in Nueva Ecija.
"Though, the coronavirus disease is a predisposing factor in the movement of people and animals including gamefowl," he said, citing that Metro Manila is currently under a month-long community quarantine so movement of people is minimized.
The provincial veterinarian earlier told SunStar Bacolod that as part of the measures, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) along with the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is set to conduct sample testing among birds from identified migratory sites in the province.
The annual sample testing is usually conducted every May, the time when migratory birds are presumed to have left the country.
Based on the result of 2019's sample testing, Negros Occidental remains free of avian influenza or bird flu.