Australia says RP is free of bird flu

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is confident that the country’s exports of poultry products will soon recover after Australian health authorities cleared the Philippines from any pathogenic avian influenza (AI), commonly known as the bird flu virus.

An analysis conducted by the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL), the regional reference laboratory for AI of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) of the World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization, confirmed that the Philippines is still free from any highly pathogenic AI.

The AAHL, which was commissioned by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to study blood samples of infected ducks from a small, isolated duck farm in Calumpit, Bulacan, reported that there was no active infection in the samples examined.

"Although the ducks have been exposed to a low pathogenic avian influenza virus, the birds’ natural systems apparently eliminated the low risk flu strain," the AAHL report said.

The AAHL report further stated that the H5N3 strain found in the duck samples is different than the virulent and highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain that swamped many countries in 2004.

"This positive development further enhances the competitive edge of our poultry product exports. Rest assured that we will continue to implement strict measures to ensure that our poultry products remain uninfected by highly pathogenic avian flu by conforming to international quality standards," said Trade Undersecretary Thomas Aquino.

The outbreak of the bird flu virus immediately affected the exports of poultry products from the major countries exporting the commodity.

Countries that have traditionally sourced poultry products from Asian countries where outbreaks occurred began importing from other sources.

Japan and the European Union have imposed an import ban on Thailand, Asia’s largest exporter of poultry products.

Outbreaks of the disease in bird populations were also confirmed in other countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Pakistan and China.

The outbreak in other countries became an advantage for the Philippines as it is one of a few countries that have so far managed to remain free from the bird flu virus.