Bird diagnostic lab in Cebu to start operating in January

The bird diagnostic laboratory in Cebu is ready to operate early next year, according to the Department of Agriculture.

DA-7 director Eduardo Lecciones said the laboratory for avian influenza testing is expected to be functional in January. The project costs almost P2 million.

The construction of the Avian Influenza Diagnostic Laboratory in Cebu City has been recommended by the Bureau of Animal Industry to detect the avian virus as well as the testing of specimens.

Two other laboratories were being constructed in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.

According to Davino Catbagan, regional head of BAI, specimens and samples of poultry products are presently shipped for testing to the Regional AI-Diagnostic Laboratory in Pampanga, the first diagnostic facility in the country.

These new diagnostic laboratories were funded through a grant from the Japanese Trust Fund.

Catbagan said these laboratories will comply with international standards and are capable of immediately detecting the presence of the bird flue virus in both live and dead samples.

Lecciones has assured the public that they are monitoring various farms in the region for bird flu and hog cholera. He said they are also vaccinating farm animals and coordinating with various local government units.

Bird flu is a disease caused by the deadly H5N1 virus and is contracted through close contact with infected birds or fowls.  — Ferliza C. Contratista/LPM