Chicken deaths in Negros Oriental probed

CEBU CITY–At least 32 chickens died in four backyard farms in Barangay Talay, Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental since last week.

Dr. Lourdes Socorro, Dumaguete city veterinarian, said they had collected blood samples and cloacal swabs from the chickens and would submit them for testing at the Department of Agriculture laboratory in Dumaguete City.

“Everything that affects and causes the mortality of birds now is considered suspected cases of bird flu. But then again, we cannot make any conclusions for now. We have to go to laboratory diagnosis,” she told the Inquirer.

Among those that died were 12 fighting cocks and 20 native chickens.

Socorro said they were not discounting the possibility that the chickens died of simple respiratory illnesses or bronchitis due to sudden weather changes.

“We have cases of chicken illnesses which are endemic in the area. They too can cause deaths to any birds,” she said.

Last year, Socorro said chickens also died in Barangay Talay. Results showed they died, not due to bird flu, but because of common poultry diseases.

Socorro advised the public not to panic and to wait for the results of the laboratory tests.

“We should not be alarmed for now as the chicken deaths are still confined in Barangay Talay,” she said.

“But we must be ready (for whatever the results of the laboratory exams are), she added.

Socorro said they were closely monitoring all chickens and poultry products in Dumaguete City to prevent any bird flu.

Last Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol lifted the ban to ship dressed chicken and other poultry products from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao.

Piñol assured the public that poultry and other poultry products outside the 7-kilometer controlled zones of Pampanga and Nueva Ecija, where there were cases of bird flu, were safe to eat.

Shipments within Luzon areas would be allowed, provided that the products would come outside the controlled zones, and that measures would be followed by the operators.