February 12, 2009

The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) is establishing its Community-Based Early Warning Systems (CBEWS) in selected barangays (small communities) that are deemed high risk of contracting bird flu virus as part of continuing government measures to keep the country free of this dreaded disease.

In his report to DA Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Director Davinio Catbagan of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said "these CBEWs are being established to orient Barangay AI Task Forces on bird flu and the reporting process for AI suspects—both in poultry and humans—as well as the possible smuggling of poultry and exotic birds in their localities."

The CBEWS are also "trainings and workshops are being conducted to familiarize the veterinary service on the proper collection, handling, storage and submission of tissue and blood samples," Catbagan said.

Under its Avian Influenza Protection Program (AIPP), Catbagan noted that the BAI is also implementing an Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (AVET) Program to strengthen the capacity of the field veterinary services, especially at the local level, in designing and managing disease surveillance, conducting outbreak investigation and effective outbreak containment measures.

In coordination with the Office of Civil Defence (OCD) through the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), these Contingency Planning Workshops were conducted by the BAI in the regions to ensure that local government units (LGUs) have their respective plans in place in the event of a possible bird flu outbreak.

Catbagan said the workshops also educate LGUs on using 5 percent of their calamity funds before, during and after disasters like an AI (avian influenza) outbreak. Such workshops are being replicated at the provincial and city level, he added.

So far, Catbagan reported that a total of 46,214 samples were tested since year 2005 and were found to be negative for the Highly Pathogenic AI (HPAI) virus.

Surveillance and prevention programs are also being implemented in airports and seaports to prevent the entry of poultry and poultry products from AI-infected countries, he said.

The DA has opened bird flu laboratories in the cities of Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, San Fernando in Pampanga and Cebu.

The laboratories complement the ongoing work being done at the Philippine Animal Health Center, which is the country's first diagnostic facility meant to promptly detect the AI virus.