RP on alert to prevent bird flu outbreak

The Philippines has gone on alert to prevent any outbreak of bird flu following a resurgence of the disease in Asia, the head of the National Epidemiology Center said Saturday.

"We don’t want to be caught off-guard," said Eric Tayag who heads the center, tasked with countering the deadly avian influenza virus.

The center is monitoring the cases of bird flu throughout the region, he said. People in the Philippines with flu will also be tested to make sure they do not have the disease.

In addition, the Health Department has stockpiled large supplies of the drug Tamiflu, used to fight the deadly strain of bird flu, he said.

The Bureau of Quarantine has also conducted a "simulation exercise", where an infected animal was discovered in the country. Local government units have also been trained to recognize any cases in their areas, Tayag added.

The agriculture department continues to monitor poultry stocks and the entry of migratory birds.

Tayag said the government continued precautionary measures first imposed when bird flu gained worldwide attention.

Thermal scanners, used to detect possible fever in people, are still positioned at the international airport to detect people coming from abroad who may have contracted the disease.

There has been no case of human infection of the deadly strain of bird flu in the Philippines.

Two Indonesian women died of bird flu this week while China also reported its first human case of bird flu in six months.

A South Korean farm worker was reported infected last month while Japan and Vietnam are also probing possible outbreaks of bird flu in poultry.

Bird flu has killed more than 150 people worldwide since late 2003 and there remain fears it may become a far more highly contagious disease that could trigger a deadly, global pandemic. — AFP