The Department of Agriculture (DA) has declared the province of Benguet free from avian influenza, two years after the initial case of the H5N1 strain infection was detected in the province.
The towns of Atok, Buguias, Itogon, La Trinidad, Sablan, and Tublay and the City of Baguio previously reported cases of H5N1 strain infections in layer and native chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese, between February and September 2022.
The DA immediately ordered the culling of infected fowls and imposed sanitation measures that include cleaning and disinfection, mobility restrictions, and surveillance in the affected as well
surrounding farms.
Stricter biosecurity controls protected the rest of the fowl population urging the DA to lift the ban and declare Benguet free from the dreaded avian disease.
The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) continues to monitor 9 provinces afflicted with bird flu. These are the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna, Sultan Kudarat, Kalinga, Cagayan, and Bataan, the DA also said.
As of Feb. 9, 2024, the BAI said 66 municipalities in 10 provinces are affected by bird flu.
Year-to-date, there have been no reported cases of HPAI.
The DA has a standing import ban on poultry and poultry products from Japan, Belgium, France and from two US states – Ohio and California.
