THE Cebu Provincial Government is banning the entry of live chickens, eggs and birds from Luzon, effective March 8.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia issued Executive Order (EO) 9 on March 7, 2022 banning the importation of live poultry, wild birds, including day-old chicks, semen, fresh eggs, embryonated eggs, fertilizer and other poultry products from Luzon for 45 days due to the threat of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus subtype H5N1 or bird flu.
Garcia said some traders of poultry products in Cebu had expressed concern over the emergence of H5N1 cases in Luzon.
"There is a need to protect the P12 billion poultry industry in Cebu, and the general public from the effects of avian influenza," part of Garcia's EO reads.
"All local chief executives are directed to strengthen and implement minimum biosecurity measures in their area of jurisdiction, particularly at the poultry establishments, slaughterhouses/abattoirs, poultry dressing plants, live bird markets, and poultry farms," Garcia said in the EO.
From now on, all routes, ports and airports will undergo strict inspection by the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regulatory Division and the Bureau of Animal Industry-Regional Veterinary Quarantine Service.
H5N1 is a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus and zoonotic, meaning it is also likely to infect humans.
This is why the Provincial Veterinary Office was also instructed to conduct surveillance and monitoring of critical and risk areas including conducting laboratory sample collection.
All local chief executives are tasked to strengthen biosecurity measures and inform their constituents about the disease.
Earlier, the province also banned the entry of live pigs and its products into Cebu due to the threat of African swine fever (ASF) that began in 2019.
This is also a way to protect the P11 billion hog industry in the province, which remains ASF-free.
Dr. Raul Migrino, DA 7 Regulatory Division chief, said if avian influenza reaches Central Visayas, it could heavily impact the poultry industry, especially since some provinces in the region like Cebu are producers of poultry products such as chicken meat and table eggs.
Migrino told SunStar Cebu that the avian influenza is highly pathogenic and, like ASF, can cause massive fatalities in various bird species if not controlled immediately. There is no known vaccine against the avian influenza.
He said Cebu is considered a huge producer of poultry products due to the presence of many broiler producers across the province, while Bantayan Island in northern Cebu is known as a producer and exporter of table eggs.
To protect the region's poultry industry, Migrino said the DA 7 had taken initial steps including urging local government units to issue policies to safeguard their poultry industry.
Before Cebu banned the entry of all live poultry products from Luzon, the provincial government of Negros Occidental had already issued a month-long ban on the entry of live birds and poultry products from all regions starting last month, he said.
Bohol officials have also informed Migrino that they plan to issue an order banning the entry of live poultry products from other areas to protect their poultry industry.
Migrino, however, clarified that based on the new memorandum circular issued by Agriculture Secretary William Dar, table eggs and even duck eggs are still allowed entry provided that a monthly negative test result is provided by the farm source and that they are inspected from the source.
Only poultry dung, manure, feathers, grazing ducks, gamefowl, ornamental and pet birds are not allowed entry according to Dar's new order, Migrino said.
In Cebu, the DA 7 is conducting random sampling and blood testing on poultry in farms. Migrino said they had initially done this in Bantayan Island to protect the industry there.
In Cebu City, the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries has sent a team along the city's coastal barangays, particularly those near the South Road Properties, to conduct cloacal swabbing and blood sampling on poultry raised in those areas.
Migrino said the Cebu Provincial Government has also initiated efforts to protect the poultry industry in various towns across its jurisdiction.
He said they plan to conduct testing in poultry farms in Olango Island next week. (ANV, TPT, JKV)