(Eagle News) — The crisis from the bird flu is now over and it is now safe to eat poultry products, according to both the agriculture and health departments.
This announcement was made after there were no more reported cases of birds or fowl that have bird flu, and upon the Department of Agriculture’s order lifting the 7-kilometer radius quarantine restrictions in previously affected areas in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija.
This means that the transport of poultry from the 7-km radius from the affected towns of San Luis in Pampanga and Jaen and San Isidro in Nueva Ecija would now be allowed.
The bird flu crisis is now “officially over” and recovery work begins, stressed Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol in his recent Facebook post.
“The biggest crisis thus far to hit the agriculture sector under the administration of President Rody Duterte, the Avian Influenza outbreak in three towns in Central Luzon, is now officially over,” he wrote.
-7-km radius quarantine restrictions lifted
“On Thursday, August 31, following the recommendations of biosecurity experts, I signed a Memorandum Circular lifting the quarantine restrictions in the 7-kilometer Controlled Area Radius around the town of San Luis, Pampanga and in Jaen and San Isidro towns in Nueva Ecija,” he said.
“This means that poultry and poultry products from these areas could now be transported to other destinations or markets,” he added.
But Piñol maintained the “quarantine restrictions and surveillance” in the 1-km. radius of the three towns.
“Farmers will only be allowed to raise chicken, ducks and quails again after 90 days from the day the disinfection of the areas ended,” he said.
Likewise Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial made an announcement that the crisis from the bird flu is now over.
“Because there are no more additional dead birds,” said Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial as the department declared that there had been no human infections of the avian influenza virus in the past monitoring period.
All possibly affected birds already culled
Ubial said that all chicken, birds and other fowl which might be suspect to avian influenza had all been killed or had passed the test following the quarantine period.
“Lahat po ng suspected na puedeng mahawa ay na-dispose na po, pinatay at dinispose na po ng Department of Agriculture,” she said.
“So wala na po tayong pangamba na mahawa po ng bird flu,” Ubial added.
Meanwhile, Piñol said he will make a “formal report to President Rodrigo Duterte during the monthly Cabinet Meeting on the Bird Flu Crisis.”
Recovery period begins
“My report will include recommendations on how government could help the poultry industry recover,” he said.
“The damage to the industry could not still be quantified beyond the value of over 600,000 fowls which biosecurity teams, including Army soldiers culled to contain the spread of the virus,” he said.
Pinol said that if it was of any consolation, the Philippines’ losses in the first case of bird flu was “nowhere near the devastation of the Thai poultry industry when they were hit by Bird Flu four times.”
“In the first Thai Bird Flu outbreak, 60-million fowls were killed but Thailand was able to recover,” he said.
“We will certainly recover,” he wrote.
“As we move forward from this crisis, I would like to thank all those who worked hard and sacrificed to ensure the success of our efforts to contain the Bird Flu. Of course, credit goes to President Duterte whose moral support and example of decisiveness helped us overcome,” he added.
Last week, President Duterte himself and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who hails from Pampanga, joined a boodle fight where chickens and eggs were served in Pampanga.
This was to stress the government’s position that it was safe to eat chicken and other poultry products.
Both the agriculture and health departments had said before, even during the bird flu crisis, that it was safe to eat properly cooked chicken and other poultry products.
(Eagle News Service)