CONSULTANT FILES
Bulacan has joined the list of provinces declared bird flu-free as tests conducted on local birds have yielded negative results for bird flu more than 90 days since the end of cleaning and disinfection operations and surveillance activities, he said the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The prosecutor said Bulacan was the 17th province to fully recover from the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Others are Camarines Sur, South Davao, Rizal, South Cotabato, Ilocos Sur, Batangas, Capiz, Quezon, Aurora, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Cotabato, Isabela, South Maguindanao, Benguet and Sultan Kudarat.
READ: Sultan Kudarat now bird flu free, says DA
The World Organization for Animal Health's terrestrial animal health code states that a previously free country or zone may regain its avian influenza-free status at least 28 days after completing a culling policy and disinfecting the last affected establishment, and that consequent surveillance showed the absence of infection.
The issuance came more than a year after Bulacan recorded 10 confirmed HPAI cases in different areas.
Bird flu was detected in the city of Baliwag between January 2022 and February last year.
It affected ducks, quails, native chickens, layers, broilers and game birds.
Fighting diseases
The local government, in coordination with the DA's Central Luzon regional office and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), conducted disease investigation, immediate depopulation, cleaning and disinfection, movement restrictions, and surveillance in affected facilities upon detection of the disease .
READ: Provinces still affected by bird flu drop to 9
Continuous monitoring and surveillance of the disease in the 1 and 7 km surveillance zones around the affected farms have produced negative test results for influenza type A virus.
Bulacan, even before recording its first cases of bird flu, had implemented disease control measures, including culling, cleaning and disinfection operations, biosecurity and other quarantine activities to prevent the risk of spread from infected facilities.
Based on BAI's April 19 count, the provinces of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Leyte still have cases of avian influenza affecting quail, native chickens, ducks, game birds and broiler chickens.
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Bulacan had 135 registered poultry facilities as of March this year, according to the DA.
