Bulacan is 17th province declared free of bird flu

INQUIRER FILES

Bulacan has joined the list of provinces declared free of bird flu as tests conducted on local poultry yielded negative results for avian influenza more than 90 days since the end of cleaning and disinfection operations and surveillance activities, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

The DA said Bulacan was the 17th province to have fully recovered from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Others are Camarines Sur, Davao del Sur, Rizal, South Cotabato, Ilocos Sur, Batangas, Capiz, Quezon, Aurora, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Cotabato, Isabela, Maguindanao del Sur, Benguet and Sultan Kudarat.

READ: Sultan Kudarat is now bird flu-free, says DA

The World Organization for Animal Health’s terrestrial animal health code states a previously free country or zone may regain its avian influenza-free status at least 28 days after completing a stamping-out 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 cases of HPAI in different areas.

Avian influenza was detected in the City of Baliwag and the towns of San Rafael, San Ildefonso, San Miguel, Santa Maria and Pulilan between January 2022 and February last year.

It affected ducks, quails, native chickens, chicken layers, broiler breeders and game fowl.

Fighting disease

The local government, in coordination with the DA’s regional office in Central Luzon and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), conducted disease investigation, immediate depopulation, cleaning and disinfection, movement restrictions and surveillance in the affected premises upon detecting the disease.

READ: Provinces still affected by bird flu down to 9

Continued disease monitoring and surveillance in the 1-kilometer and 7-km surveillance zones surrounding the affected farms yielded negative test results for influenza type A virus.

Bulacan, even before recording its first bird flu cases, had put in place disease control measures including stamping out, cleaning and disinfection operations, biosecurity and other quarantine activities to avert the risk of further spread from infected premises.

Based on BAI’s tally as of April 19, the provinces of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Leyte still have cases of bird flu affecting quail, native chicken, duck, game fowl and broiler breeder chicken.

Bulacan has 135 registered poultry facilities as of March this year, according to the DA.