The Department of Agriculture (DA) said 17,425 heads of layer chicken have been culled in the ongoing outbreak of bird flu in Sta. Maria, Bulacan.
Over at the Bureau of Animal Industry, it said the culling should not have any significant impact on the supply of eggs.
Dr. Arlene Vytiaco, BAI assistant director, said Tuesday that several tests made last month, showed that Bulacan proved positive of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
Apart from depopulating Sta. Maria, Bulacan of infected poultry, the BAI made a one-kilometer surveillance to determine if the virus has spread and only awaiting for the result of laboratory tests, Vytiaco said.
The BAI is also now locating the source of the disease which could be due to the source of layer chicken stocks or due to migratory birds in the area.
Vytiaco emphasized that culling does significantly impact on chicken egg supply as of the more than 17,000 heads culled, not all were active layers.
A wider 7-kilometer surveillance will be conducted in Bulacan to ensure the virus is gone once the laboratory results of the original one-kilometer surveillance is out, Vytiaco said.
In 2021, the World Organization for Animal Health declared the Philippines free from avian influenza. The DA later said the H5N1 strain was first detected in February 2022.
Avian or bird flu first hit the Philippines in 2017 with the H5N6 strain.
