Flies fester in chicken farm in Asturias town

PHOTOS of unusually large flies resting on plants reportedly taken in Barangay Manguiao, Asturias town, midwest Cebu that were uploaded on Facebook had drawn the attention of local officials there.

The photos were uploaded by a certain Josephine Comedia in her Facebook account last Saturday, Feb. 20.

Last Monday, Asturias Mayor Allan Adlawan received an anonymous text message informing him of the presence of flies in a poultry farm in the area, located seven kilometers from the town hall in Barangay Poblacion.

Adlawan said he immediately sent personnel from the municipal environment and natural resources office to check these reports.

“I ordered the poultry farm people to keep their area clean,” he said.

Adlawan said the presence of flies is normal in chicken farms and he cannot order the closure of poultry farms in the town every time residents complain about the pests.

He said chicken manure attracts flies. But Adlawan said if the problem worsens,  the municipal government will act on it.

In July 2014, sacks of poultry waste intended for use as fertilizer drew insects in Manguiao.

The following month, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas issued a notice of violation to the poultry farm that was blamed for the “fly infestation” in the town then.

Adlawan said they will inspect the poultry farm to see if they complied with his order.

The mayor could not recall the name of the farm or its owners, but he said it has only been operating for four months.

He said the establishment has business and sanitary permits; “otherwise, they will not be allowed to operate.”

Adlawan said he has not received any complaints of illness among residents since the poultry farm started business in the area.

He said the establishment is not near any river or body of water.

Adlawan said Asturias is home to five poultry farms which produce 800,000 chickens every 50 days.

“Majority of this is consumed by those living in Cebu City,” he said.

James Cañete, a sanitary inspector of the Provincial Health Office, said the number of flies around a poultry farm become exceptionally high during harvest.

“Before harvest, flies are minimal. They grow in number once the harvesting begins,” he said.

He said harvesting is usually every two to three months, and lasts several days.

Cañete said chicken droppings need to be kept properly once this happens.

He said poultry farmers need to place it inside a bag and store in a place where it cannot get wet. “If it gets wet, the maggots will hatch,” he said.

Cañete warned that flies are carriers of bacteria that cause diseases like cholera, typhoid fever, and diarrhea, among others.