Migratory birds could spread bird flu in RP, warns DA

If you see a wild bird, don’t touch it. Don’t even go near it because it may have bird flu.

Despite their geographic isolation and strict poultry quarantines, migrating birds could still spread avian influenza to the Philippines, an official from the Department of Agriculture (DA) said yesterday.

"Don’t feed them, don’t go near them, don’t touch them," DA quarantine chief Romel Avila said in a telephone interview. "We really don’t know if these migratory birds come from bird flu-infected countries, but the best thing to do is to prevent people from going near them."

Traditionally, migratory birds in the Philippines come from Alaska, Siberia and China. They spend winter in the Philippines or pass through the islands on their way to points south.

China, the world’s most populous nation, became the 10th Asian nation to be hit by bird flu after officials acknowledged that at least one duck was infected with the disease. They also opened an investigation into suspected cases of other dead poultry.

Besides migratory birds, Avila said people should steer clear of pet birds from other countries as well.

"We already advised all travelers not to bring in any pet birds and, at the same time, not visit any aviary or poultry farms anywhere in Asia," he added.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), meanwhile, ordered the surveillance of all migratory bird "stopover" areas in the country.

In a statement, the DENR said that while the bird flu risk factor among wild birds is very low, these birds are still suspected of being carriers of the virus.

DENR said the Philippines is a significant part of the East Asia Flyway, where migratory birds make stopovers during their migrations north and south. Some of the places where migratory birds stop over include the Manila Bay coastal area, Olango Island in Cebu, Candaba swamp in Pampanga, Batanes Island, Buguey in Cagayan Valley and the coastal wetlands of Mindanao.

DENR Secretary Elisea Gozun said her department’s Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) has been ordered to ban the entry of all pet or caged birds from countries where bird flu has been recorded.

The DENR has also been tasked with conducting surveillance of areas where migratory birds congregate. The public is asked to report any observed high incidence of wild bird mortality to the DENR office nearest them.

On Tuesday, cock breeders pushed for a temporary ban on imported game birds coming from Asian countries hit by bird flu to protect one of the Philippines’ most popular pastimes - cockfighting.

The Luzon Game Cock Breeders Association said it asked veterinary officials to impose the ban and take other steps to protect the cockfighting and breeding industry.

There are millions of game birds in the Philippines, where cockfighting is extremely popular, especially in rural areas.

Since the recent outbreak, tens of millions of birds have been slaughtered in Asia because of bird flu.

So far, 10 governments have reported some strain of bird flu - Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Philippines banned all Asian poultry imports amid the bird flu outbreak sweeping through Asian nations.

The archipelago buys poultry products only from Canada, Europe and the United States and Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit has said the possibility of the virus being carried into the Philippines is "very minimal."

The Department of Health (DOH) however advised the public to immediately report any unusual chicken deaths to the authorities.

Dayrit said close monitoring of sick birds and chickens is part of the government’s effort to avert the possible entry and spread of bird flu in the country.

Dayrit said the bird flu virus mainly affects chickens, turkeys, ducks and other birds, but it can be transmitted to humans through close contact with sick birds.

"Infection (of) humans may come about if the hand that touched the infected chicken comes in contact with any part of the mucus membrane of the infected bird," he said.

Both the DOH and DA have assured that the country remains safe from the bird flu, but they also underscored the need for the adoption of precautions against the disease.

Outbreaks of bird flu cases among humans have been reported in Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand.

President Arroyo herself personally reassured the public that there is no reason "to panic" about the possible entry of the bird flu virus into the country.

The President gave these reassurances in her daily morning program over dzMM radio in the wake of the bird flu scare triggered by the controversial smuggling of dressed chickens shipped from Taiwan.

Nineteen refrigerated container vans full of the imported poultry arrived at the Batangas port. The dress chickens reportedly did not go through the National Meat Inspection Council’s (NMIC) mandatory examination before the shipment was released Sunday.

"All we can say here about the bird flu is, I hope our people remember the effective measures we did against SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which we avoided although it spread in the countries around us," the President said.

"Our front-line measure against this (bird flu) threat are information, vigilance and quarantine. So, we must remember these measures we did against SARS and, therefore, not panic," she added.

"We did not panic during SARS, so we must not panic now," she said.

Saying "there is no cause for alarm," the President added that all concerned government agencies are doing their jobs "to prevent and intercept entry" of the bird flu virus.

"What is important is public awareness, unity and involvement," she said. "I ask our people to keep themselves informed and cooperate with authorities."

According the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, type A influenza viruses - such as the one that causes bird flu - can infect several animal species, including birds, pigs, horses, seals and whales. — Marichu Villanueva, Mayen Jaymalin and Mike Frialde