By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
The biosecurity protocols against bird flu are already in place in Negros Occidental’s major ports, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) said.
“Diri sa Negros Occidental, waay man kita problema, [kay] naga-exist na nga daan ang aton mga quarantine inspectors sa mga ports,” PVO head, Dr. Placeda Lemana said.
Lemana said all PVOs in Western Visayas immediately held an emergency meeting to monitor the situation, and local stakeholders in the province’s poultry industry have also convened.
The PVO head said the broilers were not included in the ban as part of the biosecurity protocols.
“Ang itlog mas dako 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, indi ma-develop ang chick kung ang hen kag ang itlog infected,” she explained.
Lemana added that the virus is “embryo-lethal.”
Meanwhile, imports of eggs to the province averaged 225,000 from Iloilo; 666,667 from Capiz; and 3.1 million from Cebu.
“Now kun nagapagwa ang aton nga mga producers diri, kag i-total naton ang coming from Panay, mga more or less 900,000, mas damo pa ang mapagwa naton diri and therefore ma-compensate naton ang nagasulod nga itlog from Panay,” she said.
The sub-sector has agreed to supply eggs coming from Panay before they export their produce to other provinces.
Last December 2, poultry serum and oropharyngeal swab samples from a poultry farm in Roxas City’s Barangay Cagay, tested positive for avian influenza (AI) virus type A subtype H5N1, based on a 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 the AI virus in the city, the local government has assured the public that preventive measures have already been taken to prevent its spread.
Currently, Negros Occidental has an P8.1 billion poultry industry and the entry of bird flu in the province could have a disastrous effect on both the province’s industry and food production./DGB, WDJ