Native chickens like these sold at the Carbon Public Market are free from avian flu, but vendor Felix Alcantara says few are buying because of the bird flu outbreak in Pampanga. (CDN PHOTO/ MICHELLE JOY L. PADAYHAG)
Following the bird flu outbreak in Pampanga, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), which is under the Department of Agriculture (DA), has issued a memorandum circular to temporarily ban the movement of chicken meat and products from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao.
The memorandum circular, dated August 11, 2017, was signed by DA Assistant Secretary for Livestock Enrico P. Garzon Jr.
Dr. Alice Utlang, chief of Cebu City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF), immediately posted on Facebook yesterday a stern reminder to meat suppliers to refrain from shipping to Cebu chicken meat from Luzon.
“Sorry, we will confiscate the meat even (those) with papers,” Utlang said.
The memorandum circular provided for a “temporary ban on the movement of live domestic and wild birds and their products including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, semen (and) manure from Luzon” to other parts of the country to prevent the spread of avian flu.
“Within Luzon island, the movement of fresh, frozen meat, eggs, and other uncooked poultry products may be allowed provided this is outside the seven-kilometer radius control area of the outbreak site in Pampanga,” the BAI memorandum circular said.
Poultry products from Luzon that will be confiscated by the Cebu City DVMF will be treated with disinfectant and will be buried in DVMF compound, Utlang said.
Utlang said those who will violate the ban will be fined P100,000, as provided under Republic Act 10536, or An Act Amending Republic Act No. 9296, or known as “The Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines.”
“All our local sources (of chickens and eggs) have no problem since Visayas and Mindanao are still free (of avian flu). We will also monitor “balot” (fertilized duck eggs) and their source,” Utlang told Cebu Daily News by phone on Sunday.
On Friday, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol confirmed the outbreak after tests conducted by the BAI and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) revealed H5 strain of the avian flu virus had infected fowls in a farm in San Luis, Pampanga.
Although the Veterinary Quarantine Service in Manila will no longer issue shipping permit for chicken products coming from Luzon, Utlang said they would not be letting their guards down.
Utlang also reminds poultry raisers and vendors to be careful in handling their poultry to prevent infection or outbreak similar to what happened in Pampanga.
“Farm owners should strengthen their biosecurity and continue to be vigilant,” she added.
For the chicken supply in supermarkets and restaurants, Utlang said some of them are sourced from Metro Manila while most are from Visayas and Mindanao.
“Starting yesterday (Aug. 12, Saturday) and today (Sunday), they (supermarkets and restaurants) were informed not to source (their chicken products) from Manila,” said Utlang.
She said hotels will be notified about the directive by today.
Most of the officials of the towns on Bantayan Island, considered the egg basket of Cebu, were meanwhile unavailable for comment yesterday.
But Mayor Jay River Dela Fuente of Madridejos, one of the three towns on Bantayan Island, told CDN by text message yesterday that he would hold a meeting with the 30 poultry owners in his town within this week.
“Right now, no reported bird flu in Madridejos, but we are planning to call for a meeting to all poultry operators to observe their poultry products,” added Dela Fuente.
Drop in sales
Even if locally raised chicken are not affected by avian flu, some chicken vendors in Cebu City have started to experience a drop in sales.
Felix Alcantara, who sells live native chicken at the Carbon
Public Market, on Sunday said he used to be able to sell 30 to 40 chickens every day. But since the bird flu outbreak in Pampanga was reported, he could only sell from 10 to 25 chickens a day.
“Dili pa mausab ang presyo sa karon kay wala pa man sad nausab ang presyo sa among gipamalitan (Prices are not yet affected because the suppliers have yet to adjust their price),” Alcantara told CDN while holding a live native chicken.
Alcantara buys native chicken at P130 to P140 per kilo from his suppliers in the towns of Oslob, Dumanjug, Alcantara, Moalboal, Argao, Dalaguete, and Sibonga. He in turn sells it at P190 to P220 per kilo.
Alcantara, 60, is a native of Barangay Poblacion, Dalaguete, and has been a chicken vendor for the past two years at Carbon Public Market.
This is the only livelihood he knows aside from hog raising, and he has seven mouths to feed.
“Aw kung mapadayon mi nga maapektuhan aning bird flu outbreak unta naay livelihoood assistance ihatag ang gobyerno (If the bird flu outbreak would continue to affect us, I hope our government would extend livelihood assistance to us),” Alcantara said.
Just like Alcantara, Lucy Daganasol, 55, from Barangay Linaw, Talisay City, also observed a decrease in sales of native chicken following the bird flu outbreak.
Daganasol, who has been a native chicken vendor for 20 years, said she used to be able to sell 20 chicken a day but yesterday she was only able to sell five.
Daganasol buys her native chickens at P150 per kilo from the town of Oslob and sells them at P220 per kilo at Carbon Public Market.
Daganasol, a widow who has five mouths to feed, said that if the drop in native chicken sales would continue, she might shift to selling wooden penny banks full time, which she currently sells in small number at P50 each.
What is a bird flu
Bird flu, also known as Avian Influenza (AI), is a viral disease for domestic and wild birds caused by Orthomyxovirus which affects mammals including humans, according to a DA information sheet on the disease released yesterday by Utlang.
There are two categories of bird flu, the low pathogenic (LPAI) that can cause zero to few clinical signs and the high pathogenic (HPAI) that results in high mortality and severe clinical signs.
Transmission of the virus is through contaminated eggs, contaminated feed, water, equipment and clothing and direct contact with infected bird’s feces or secretions.
There is no specific treatment for bird flu.
Signs include severe depression, drastic decline in egg production, swollen and bluish combs and wattles, dehydration, severe congestion of musculature, severe congestion of conjunctiva, excessive mucous exudate in tracheal lumen, severe hemorrhagic tracheitis, severe kidney congestion, urate deposits in renal tubules, hemorrhage and degeneration of the ovary and hemorrhage and erosion of the gizzard lining.
‘Control and prevention’
According to the BAI, control and prevention should include biosecurity and disinfection, in which an intense cleaning and disinfection should be done.
The BAI requires that poultry raisers should immediately report to the nearest agricultural or veterinary office for any unusual death or illness of chicken and other birds; and to isolate and quarantine birds exposed to humans and animals.
Poultry farmers are also required to dispose of carcasses and poultry products properly to prevent the spread of disease.
Offices under DA are also asked to distribute information and education materials to educate the public about bird flu.
‘Dos and Don’ts’
The bureau also gave tips to the public to avoid bird flu.
Poultry meat and eggs should be cooked properly.
Don’t buy or eat smuggled poultry meat.
If a person is exposed or in contact with birds, he should wash his hands thoroughly.
Avoid contact with wild and migratory birds.
Don’t release birds or expose them to the wild.
Wear a mask and seek medical help in case of suspicious situations after bird exposure.
Don’t go to the large crowd with poor air circulation.
Take a balanced diet and regular exercise and don’t forget to report unusual deaths or sickness of birds to the nearest agricultural or veterinary office.
‘DOH advisory’
The Department of Health, on its official Facebook page, announced it was closely monitoring the avian flu outbreak in Pampanga.
“The DOH has stepped up the human flu like-illness surveillance since the reported human influenza outbreaks in Hongkong and India a few months back and will now look for human cases who may have been exposed to avian flu strain in affected areas. Any person who becomes sick with fever and/or sore throat/cough and had exposure to these dead chickens should report to the local health center or nearest hospital for laboratory confirmation,” the DOH advised on its Facebook page.
However, “properly cooked chicken remains safe to eat,” the DOH stressed.
A team of epidemiologists from DOH was already deployed to assist the DA in the outbreak investigation, according to the Facebook post.
It said the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) has the capacity to confirm the cases.
The DOH said it has already alerted hospitals in the affected areas to report similar cases.
They will also coordinate with DA and World Health Organization (WHO) to prevent human cases.
“The DOH has a supply of anti-flu medication and commodities whenever regional health offices and hospitals will require these. In the interim, all health providers should observe respiratory precautions when taking care of patients with flu or flu-like illness,” it said.