Provinces with bird flu down to 9

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said that the number of provinces affected by avian influenza (AI) subtype H5N1 is down to nine and no new cases have been reported since the start of 2024.

In a statement on Monday, the DA said that affected provinces are Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna, Sultan Kudarat, Kalinga, Cagayan and Bataan.

Last month, there were 10 affected provinces, including Benguet.

In a memorandum circular issued on February 13, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has cleared the province of Benguet from bird flu.

Tiu Laurel said that 90 days have passed since the end of disinfection operations and surveillance which yielded negative bird flu results.

“Initial cases of the H5N1 strain infections were detected in various fowls, including layer and native chickens, ducks, turkey and goose between February and September 2022 in the City of Baguio and the towns of Atok, Buguias, Itogon, La Trinidad, Sablan and Tublay,” the DA said.

The department said that Benguet was declared free from avian disease due to prompt depopulation, cleaning and disinfection, mobility restrictions and increased surveillance in the vicinity of affected farms.

As of February 9, the Bureau of Animal Industry said there were 66 municipalities in six regions that are affected by bird flu.

“There has been no reported case of HPAI since the start of 2024,” the DA said.

In November last year, the Agriculture department allowed the commercial use of AI vaccines following the release of guidelines for vaccination as measure to prevent the further spread of the disease.

The department established guidelines for obtaining the vaccines and has identified priority zones. The DA previously stated that the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the country has resulted in significant economic repercussions for the poultry sector due to elevated mortality rates.