The Philippines confirmed eight new bird flu outbreaks in Luzon, half of which were recorded in the southern part of the island region, with over 2,000 quails and ducks dying from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1.
In its latest follow-up report to the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Philippines said it has confirmed two new bird flu outbreaks in Pampanga, another two in San Rafael, Bulacan and one in Victoria, Laguna.
The Philippines also confirmed three more outbreaks in three different towns of Camarines Sur.
Based on the Philippine report, there were a total of 4,918 susceptible ducks in the eight outbreaks. Of which, 2,145 died while the remaining 2,773 were culled by the government to contain the outbreaks.
In the same follow-up report, the Philippines revealed that the earlier four outbreaks in Pampanga and Bulacan that it reported last February 18 were already resolved.
New outbreaks
The government confirmed two new outbreaks in Barangay Santa Catalina, Minalin, Pampanga and in Barangay San Roque, San Rafael, Bulacan with 1,811 susceptible ducks. The government culled 1,786 ducks to contain the outbreaks in Pampanga while 25 ducks died due to bird flu.
The two new outbreaks in San Rafael, Bulacan (Barangays San Roque and Dagat-Dagatan) had a total susceptible duck population of about 151, of which 20 died due to the disease, while 131 were culled.
The government also confirmed a bird flu outbreak in a commercial duck farm in Barangay San Roque, Victoria, Laguna with a susceptible population of 2,666 ducks. Based on the report, 2,000 ducks died due to bird flu, while the remaining 666 were culled to address the outbreak.
The Philippines also recorded three outbreaks in three different areas in Camarines Sur: Barangay San Agustin in Bula, Barangay Calagbangan in Sipocot and Barangay San Isidro in Bula. The three outbreaks recorded 100 deaths of ducks due to bird flu, while 190 ducks were killed and disposed of.
With the latest eight outbreaks, the total death count due to bird flu this year has reached 44,390 ducks and quails while the number of ducks and quails culled by the government has reached 38,808 already.
The BusinessMirror broke the story last February that the Philippines lost its bird-flu free status after the government reported its first confirmed outbreaks of HPAI H5N1 that killed over 42,000 quails and ducks in four Central Luzon farms. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/02/22/phl-reports-new-avian-flu-outbreaks-in-central-luzon-farms/)