December 2, 2010

 

Philippines to maintain tighter watch on poultry smuggling

 

 

Philippine officials are keeping a close watch on possible smuggling points for poultry into the country, just weeks after one case of avian influenza was detected in Hong Kong.

 

The Department of Agriculture (DA) says ducks are potential carriers and can pass the virus to other birds, as well as to humans.

 

Candaba Mayor, Gerry Pelayo, said humans are not under threat of contracting the virus from migratory birds since they are not in direct contact with them. He also cited an existing ordinance against catching migratory birds as another preventive measure.

 

Pelayo said migratory birds cannot survive the 2,000-kilometre trip to the Philippines if they were sick.

 

Instead, Pelayo is calling for a tighter watch on the entry of poultry from countries with cases of bird flu. He said the illegal smuggling of duck meat from China could pose the biggest threat and pave the way for the possible entry of bird flu into the country.

 

With the development, Pelayo noted that the Japanese have expressed interest to purchase duck meat from the Philippines.

 

Pelayo credited the pro-active measures they have taken, like the Task Force Iwas Bird Flu, which makes round-the-clock checks on commercial ducks, and a hotline that receives reports on sightings of dead fowl for the Philippines' bird-flu free status over the past five years.

 

The agriculture department's bird flu task force in the region is now conducting bi-annual visits to duck farms in Candaba, Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, Puerto Rivas, and Bataan. They also urge bird owners to report any unusual deaths or behavior to make way for tests to detect the virus.

 

Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Protective Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) said it has imposed a ban on the importation of wild birds from countries with bird flu cases.

 

"We are also banning the importation of wild birds whether it is for pets or other purposes from countries that are bird-flu positive. Occasional smuggling happens and we coordinate immediately with the agriculture department for testing or quarantine and even for extermination of the birds," said PAWB Director, Mundita Lim.

 

Lim noted the DA also bans the importation of wild birds from other countries, and has been monitoring which countries are bird-flu positive, following a list identified by animal health organisations. It has also stopped issuing permits for importation, as they have done for countries including Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Vietnam in the past.

 

For the last five years, Lim said that they have been monitoring the country's wetlands for possible diseases in migratory birds, mainly for conservation purposes, but now, also in light of bird flu cases recorded overseas.

 

Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, brushed off fears over the bird flu, but admitted there is a need for greater monitoring as the threat persists.

 

"We have to be vigilant. The transmission of bird flu is never sustained in community levels. There is not much threat as far as human-to-human transmission, but among livestock going to humans, the threat will always be there," he said.

 

Mike Lu, president of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, said they incorporate avian flu information dissemination into their bird-watching activities via a campaign called "Just Watch, Don't Catch," thereby minimising the risk of transferring the avian flu.