THE Department of Agriculture (DA) Region Office-Western Visayas will deploy a quarantine officer anytime Thursday to monitor the entry of poultry products in Bacolod City’s sea ports, an official said.
Bacolod City veterinarian Ma. Agueda de la Torre said Wednesday, August 16, incoming vessels from Manila could possibly be carrying chicken or eggs prohibited from being transported from Luzon in the wake of the bird flu outbreak in Pampanga.
“We should be prepared to monitor the entry of poultry products from Manila to stop the spread of avian flu virus,” she added.
Avian flu virus is a viral infection that can infect not only birds, but also humans and other animals. Most forms of the virus are restricted to birds.
De la Torre said the City Veterinary Office (CVO) is not authorized to do the quarantine.
She added that she is not deputized by the Bureau of Animal Industry as a quarantine officer.
The CVO will inspect all the poultry farms in Bacolod today to ensure zero cases of bird flu.
Dr. Grace Tan, head of the CHO Environmental Sanitation Division, said H5N1 is the common form of bird flu.
There are no cases of avian flu in the city.
The symptoms of H5N1 infection are cough or flu-like symptoms, headache, sore throat, and diarrhea.
Tan urged the public to report poultry farms with death cases of chicken or ducks for investigation.
She added that it’s also hard to trace and control the migratory birds possibly carrying avian flu virus as well as smuggled birds that enter Bacolod.
“We need the cooperation of everybody to stop the spread of bird flu,” she added.
Meanwhile, Executive Assistant Ernie Pineda, cluster head on markets, said they are working to include dressed chicken in the operations of AVM Bernardo slaughterhouse in Barangay Handumanan.
A public hearing will be held on August 22.
In spite of the bird flu outbreak, Pineda said the sales of chicken in various public markets in Bacolod are not affected.
