Bird flu case in Camarines Norte will not affect retail prices, supply 

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the detection of the first case of bird flu in Camarines Norte won’t affect retail prices and supply amid the holiday season.

The Bureau of Animal (BAI) said on Wednesday that Camarines Norte recorded its first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza this month, the latest area to be hit by this animal disease.

READ: Camarines Norte reports first bird flu case

“We do not see any impact of the new active case of avian influenza in Talisay, Camarines Norte… [on local supply],” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in a Zoom interview on Thursday.

“It will not have an impact on [retail] prices,” de Mesa, concurrently serving as the DA’s spokesperson, told reporters.
De Mesa said only Pandi, Bulacan and Talisay, Camarines Norte have active cases of bird flu based on the latest tally while previously reported cases were already controlled.

“But then again if you look at our cases, our bird flu incidents are easily controlled. And immediately, once controlled, we will declare the area bird-flu free,” he added.

The BAI launched an investigation following the detection of type A subtype H5N2 at a duck farm located in Talisay, which was reported by the Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory on Dec. 6.

This would trace the movement of birds and identify additional risks while the DA’s regional field office in Bicol has activated its command center to oversee operations.

This was the first time that BAI recorded this type of strain but de Mesa said the agency still has to disclose the incident for transparency purposes.

“The more common strain is H5N1. If you will research H5N1, you’ll find it is more virulent and spreads more easily compared to H5N2, which is less likely to be transmitted to humans. In other words, H5N2 has a lesser impact, but it still needs to be reported by the [BAI],” he added.

While getting to the bottom of this situation, the BAI already culled infected animals on Dec. 10 and concluded the 1-kilometer surveillance the following day.

De Mesa assured that certain measures are in place to curb the spread of bird flu and other animal diseases in the Philippines including quarantine and biosecurity protocols.

According to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), avian influenza is a highly contagious viral disease affecting both domestic and wild birds. It is caused by viruses divided into multiple subtypes whose genetic characteristics rapidly evolve.

In Metro Manila markets, whole chicken retailed between P175 and P240 per kilogram as of Dec. 11, higher than P140-P200 per kg on the same day a year ago, according to the DA’s price monitoring.