A deadlier strain of the bird flu virus in San Luis, Pampanga should keep the government on its toes. The Department of Agriculture has just confirmed the virus that downed thousands of fowls in the town tested positive for the H5N6 strain that could be transmitted to humans.
The strain, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry, could cause flu-like symptoms when transferred to humans, but such transmission rate is very low. Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam have found the similar H5N6 strain in their poultry farms but reported no cases of human infections.
Only 20 persons so far have been reported to be infected with the strain, mostly from China. The H5N6 strain could be transmitted through direct contact with birds or materials contaminated by the sources of infection. The bureau says bird flu is transmitted to humans by close contact with infected birds or through inhalation or contamination with discharges of sick birds. The virus is excreted in feces, which dry and is later inhaled. The flapping of the wings hasten transmission.
The possibility that humans can get infected with the bird flu strain should force the agriculture and health departments to impose more stringent measures in containing the outbreak. They must ensure that all birds in the affected and surrounding areas are immediately culled.
While flu-like symptoms on humans so far have not been reported, authorities cannot be complacent. Strict biosecurity or quarantine measures must be applied because the virus can easily spread to the whole of Luzon.
The government may expand the so-called “controlled areas” to restrict the movement and sale of chickens and other fowls to the market. Quarantine officials must be pro-active in monitoring the movement of the animals to effectively contain the outbreak.
The bird flu virus is exacting a heavy toll on the country’s poultry sector and its export, as consumers restrict their chicken intake. A prolonged outbreak, meanwhile, will set back the economic development of the countryside and deal a severe blow to small entrepreneurs.