BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental’s biosecurity protocols against bird flu are already in place in major ports.
Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) head, Dr. Placeda Lemana, said they received a report about a case of bird flu in Barangay Cagay, Roxas City in Capiz province on Dec. 2.
“Waay kita problema. Naga-exist na nga daan ang aton mga quarantine inspectors sa mga ports,” Lemana said.
All PVOs in Western Visayas recently had an emergency meeting to find ways to contain the spread of bird flu.
Lemana said stakeholders in the province’s poultry industry also convened.
They asked the Negros Occidental Layers Association as to how many eggs are they exporting to neighboring provinces, and they replied that they can release up to 2.4 million eggs a month.
Egg imports to Negros Occidental, meanwhile, are averaging 225,000 eggs from Iloilo; 666,667 eggs from Capiz; and Cebu at 3.1 million.
“Now, kun nagapaguwa ang aton nga mga producers diri, 2.4 million a month, kag i-total naton ang coming from Panay, mga more or less 900,000. Mas damo pa ang mapaguwa naton diri and therefore ma-compensate naton ang nagasulod nga itlog from Panay,” Lemana pointed out.
The layers sub-sector agreed to supply the eggs coming from Panay before they export their produce to other provinces.
As to the broilers, they have no problems since they were not included in the bird flu ban.
“Ang itlog mas daku ang chance nga maging carrier siya [for bird flu] than ang mga layers. Now, ang hatching egg naman ‘ya kay ma-undergo na siya incubation plus indi mag-develop ang chick kung ang hen kag ang itlog infected,” she explained.
The PVO head added that the virus is “embryo-lethal.”
On Dec. 2, poultry serum and oropharyngeal swab samples from a poultry farm in Barangay Cagay, Roxas City tested positive for AI virus type A (IVA) subtype H5N1, based on the laboratory result released by the Bureau of Animal Industry’s Veterinary Laboratory Division.
The said poultry farm is located in an isolated area, away from the populace.
Following the detection of avian influenza in the said city, the local government has assured the public that preventive measures have already been taken to prevent its spread.
Negros Occidental currently has an P8.1-billion poultry industry and the entry of bird flu in the province could have a disastrous effect to both the province’s industry and food production./PN
