The Philippine government is monitoring another outbreak reported in China, a strain of H5N1 bird flu or avian influenza.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is observing wetlands and possible landing areas of migratory birds that may be carriers of the avian influenza virus, according to Bureau of Animal Industry director Ronnie Domingo, reported Philippine Star.
Domingo said Monday regular surveillance is continuous and as these areas can be the entry points because (DA) have already banned the countries with bird flu.
“Last year, we tested 9,000 samples and all those tested negative. We continuously do that, we get samples. There are 65 critical areas that we are looking at where there are lots of migratory birds like the Candaba swamp,” he said.
China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs reported on Saturday an outbreak of the ‘highly pathogenic’ H5N1 strain at a farm in central city of Shaoyang in Hunan province, which has killed 4,500 chickens.
The said virus can be transmitted to humans who have close contact infected live or dead birds, or H5N1-contaminated environments, according to World Health Organization.
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