February 13, 2007

Philippines probes bird fatality

The Philippines is investigating a bird fatality in the central part of the country that may have been caused by highly pathogenic bird flu, a senior agriculture official said Monday (Feb 12).

The Philippines has so far managed to remain free of the disease, which has affected many of its Asian neighbours.

Davinio Catbagan, director of the Bureau of Animal Industry, or BAI, said the agency has asked its regional office to check on the incident, which occurred in Sorsogon province, in the central Philippines, an area frequented by migratory birds.

The bird, an egret, had a leg band indicating it had come from Japan. It was found weak by a local farmer in a nearby marshland Feb. 5, another BAI official said.

"The area is high risk (for bird flu) although we're quite confident at this point that this wasn't caused by the disease. This is just an isolated case," Samuel Animas, national coordinator for bird flu, said.