US experts to help put in place anti-bird flu measures

CANDABA, Pampanga — A team from the US Department of Agriculture has arrived here to help put in place measures aimed at preventing an outbreak of the avian flu, usually transmitted by migratory birds which have started to arrive by the thousands at the Candaba swamp.

Dr. Davino Catbagan, officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), told The Star yesterday that experts from the US agriculture department, led by Filipino-American Dr. Ned Cardenas, has been meeting with local officials led by Mayor Jerry Pelayo to finalize policies to prevent contact of local fowl and even humans with the migratory birds.

"We expect the US experts to be with us for the next three years," Catbagan said. The US experts are also expected to visit other parts of the country, which were included in the "priority list" in the government’s campaign against bird flu.

Pelayo said that as of last month, no less than 7,000 migratory birds of various species have been noted at the Candaba swamp where seven hectares is a reserved bird sanctuary.

"The Philippines has remained bird flu-free and we are doing our best to maintain that status," he said.

The country has resumed export of processed chicken to other countries, except Japan. Chicken exports were briefly halted over a month ago amid reports that ducks in Calumpit, Bulacan were found to have a mild, non-fatal strain of the bird flu virus.

Among the policies now being imposed in Candaba and other "priority areas," mostly those with swamplands where migratory birds stay in the country, include prevention of local fowl and human contact not only with the wild birds but also with their immediate environment.

Catbagan said that worries about bird flu is expected to ease four months from now, or by about February next year when the migratory birds again leave the country.

Pelayo, who has been promoting tourism in this town by inviting bird watchers to observe the thousands of migratory birds that flock to the Candaba swamp at this time of the year, said he has already deputized marshalls to make sure that visitors stay at a distance from the wild birds. He has imposed a 500-meter buffer zone between bird watchers and the wild birds, amid plans to construct surveillance towers and cyclone wire fences around the habitat of the migratory fowls.

Catbagan said that he expects processed chicken exports to Japan to resume in two weeks after compliance with the Japanese government’s demands for some information on the local poultry industry.

The Duck Association of the Philippines also finally agreed to the government’s proposal to temporarily ban the "pagala system" in duck raising. This system refers to the practice of duck raisers herding their fowl to other areas, even to another province, where feeds are available.

"They can resume the traditional practice perhaps after four months when the migratory birds leave," Catbagan said.