Phl still free from bird flu, tests show

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines  – As wild birds escaping from the harsh winter in other Asian countries again seek refuge in the Philippines starting this month, a bird flu laboratory here revealed that tests on 1,950 blood samples from ducks nationwide showed that the country remains free from bird flu.    

The bird flu or avian influenza laboratory was established in 2007 at the compound of the Department of Agriculture (DA) here with $340,000 in funding from the New Zealand government.

It has been serving the entire country as a similar laboratory of the Bureau of Animal Industry in Quezon City has been undergoing repair since last March, said Dr. Romeo Manalili, the DA’s regional avian flu coordinator.      

Mallari said some of the blood samples were taken from as far as Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao, while other samples were taken from various parts of Luzon and the Visayas.

“We are glad to announce that all the 1,950 blood samples randomly taken from ducks in hot spot areas in the country all tested negative for avian flu,” Manalili said.

Of the total, 280 samples were taken from Central Luzon, particularly the Candaba swamp in Pampanga where tens of thousands of wild birds, which could carry the avian flu virus, migrate at this time of the year.      

Manalili said all the blood samples were taken from ducks which he said could carry the avian flu virus while not dying from it.

“They are unlike chickens which die if they contract avian flu,” he said.