THE Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said on Tuesday that it has received no official reports of a supposed Tarlac outbreak of type H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), or bird flu.
“We would like to clarify that the BAI has not received any official report of such an outbreak from the local authorities of Tarlac,” it said in a statement.
It added that there are currently no confirmed laboratory results indicating the presence of bird flu in the province.
The BAI said that its Animal Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory is the sole recognized authority that determines positive cases of bird flu.
According to the BAI, two municipalities in the neighboring province of Pampanga have active cases of avian influenza as of July 19.
Overall, some 50 municipalities in eight provinces remain affected by bird flu.
The last officially confirmed case in Tarlac province was recorded in December, according to the BAI.
“Should there be any confirmed case of bird flu, the BAI will promptly inform the public and take all necessary measures to contain and address the situation,” it added.
In March, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said three bird flu vaccines are currently undergoing field testing with the Food and Drug Administration.
Last year, the DA released guidelines on the commercial use of the avian flu vaccine once approval is granted.
Priority would be given to commercial farms growing layer chicken, layer chicken breeders, broiler chicken breeders, free-range breeders, grandparent broiler breeders, as well as smallhold layer/native chicken, duck, game fowl, turkey, and goose farms. — Adrian H. Halili
