Philippines logs new bird flu outbreaks

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has reported new outbreaks of avian influenza or bird flu in five provinces.

A majority of these cases have been resolved, authorities said.

In a follow-up report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), local authorities said new outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza were detected in the provinces of Bataan, Camarines Sur, Laguna, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac.

Among the villages in Nueva Ecija that reported an outbreak were Pulong Buli in Sto. Domingo town; Cavite and Narvacan 1, both in Guimba; Tagtagumbao in Cuyapo; Villa Nati in Muñoz, and San Felipe Matanda in Aliaga.

Of the villages, Villa Nati and San Felipe Matanda have ongoing cases. The rest have been resolved.

New outbreaks were also reported in Camarines Sur, particularly in the villages of Sagrada in Pili, Mambulo Nuevo in Libmanan, San Benito in Goa, Malawag in Nabua and San Juan in Baao.

Of the villages, only Sagrada has an ongoing case.

Outbreaks in Tarlac and Laguna were resolved earlier.

Bird flu infections were also detected and are still active in Barangay Mabuco, Hermosa, Bataan.

Based on the OIE report, a total of 60,289 birds died from the virus, while 43,714 others were killed or disposed of to stop its spread.