Negros Occidental purchases machine to test bird flu
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BACOLOD CITY––The Negros Occidental provincial government is buying an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) machine to help the multi-billion peso gamefowl industry in the province.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) now requires that 10 percent of every shipment of gamefowl from the province to other areas in the country undergo tests for avian influenza, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Wednesday, May 25.
Since no machine is available in the province, gamefowl breeders have to wait for test results from Manila.
The ELISA, which costs P900,000, is worth investing in to help the province’s multi-billion peso industry, Diaz said.
The Negros Occidental provincial government laboratory for gamefowl tests is located at the Panaad Park in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod.
Negros Occidental is avian influenza-free, but the tests are required by the DA, Diaz said.
