MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) denied claims on Tuesday that a bird flu outbreak was recorded in Tarlac, saying it received no reports from local authorities in the province.
“The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is aware of recent reports circulating in the media regarding a supposed bird flu outbreak in Tarlac. We would like to clarify that the BAI has not received any official report of such an outbreak from the local authorities in Tarlac,” BAI said in a statement.
READ: Provinces still affected by bird flu down to 9
A report on Monday stated that the Philippine Egg Board Association said chickens at a farm in Tarlac tested positive for bird flu or avian influenza A virus H5N1. According to BAI, there are no reports of confirmed laboratory results in the area.
“The BAI Animal Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory (ADDRL) is the sole authority to officially detect and confirm positive cases of bird flu through standardized testing protocols,” BAI added.
According to the BAI, the last confirmed case of bird flu in the province was in December 2023. In February, Tarlac was among the nine provinces still affected by bird flu.
The Department of Agriculture imposed a temporary import ban last July 17 on poultry products of wild and domestic birds from Minnesota, United States due to a bird flu outbreak in the area.
READ: Poultry products imported from Minnesota banned in PH due to bird flu