No bird flu outbreak in Leyte – DA
TACLOBAN CITY: Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Office 8 director Andrew Rodolfo Orais declared on Monday that there is no avian influenza or bird flu outbreak in the province of Leyte despite positive test findings from the Bureau of Animal Industry’s Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory on two chickens.
“Contrary to speculations and information circulating on social media, the said case was immediately contained due to the preemptive actions taken by the farm management, its contracting company, and the local government unit of Kananga town,” Orais said.
“This is the first time that a case of bird flu has been reported in the region,” he added.
According to an investigation by authorities, including the DA and the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian of Leyte, farm management undertook preemptive culling of birds in one of the five bird houses where higher mortalities were found.
As a result, on March 15 and 16, the farm management decided to depopulate all of their bird stocks in all of their bird houses in order to immediately control the disease on the farm and prevent it from spreading over the surrounding area.
The remains of the depopulated birds were buried on the farm grounds, as evidenced by circulating images online.
Authorities were assured that proper disposal was followed and was consistent with standard procedures.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its Environmental Management Bureau have already been notified, and additional site investigation and inspection will begin once the quarantine period in the area ends.
“We urge everyone to refrain from engaging with and sharing social media posts that are aimed at causing fearmongering,” Orais said.
“Rest assured that the government and its concerned agencies are in control of the situation and are taking the necessary steps to avert any untoward circumstances that could potentially affect the poultry industry, our citizens, and our other economic activities.”