Sally Furniss
New member
Bulacan to hold bird flu simulation drill
By DINO BALABO
The Philippine Star
MALOLOS CITY?Bulacan?s provincial veterinarian disclosed yesterday that a massive bird flu simulation drill will be conducted within the year to test the preparedness of all sectors, including the newly inaugurated Regional Avian Influenza Diagnostic Laboratory (RAIDL) in Pampanga.
Dr. Felipe Bartolome, Bulacan?s provincial veterinarian, told The STAR that the simulation will be similar to the earthquake drills that the government initiated last year.
He said it will include all sectors and government agencies involved in keeping the country safe and prepared for the dreaded disease that has claimed at least 163 lives in other countries in the past years.
"The Philippines is still bird flu free, but we have to be prepared," said Bartolome, echoing the message of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap at the inauguration of the first state-of-the-art RAID Laboratory in San Fernando City, Pampanga on Tuesday afternoon.
The establishment of the RAID Laboratory is part of the project entitled, "Strengthening Laboratory and Field Surveillance for an Effective Avian Influenza Protection Program" implemented by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) with technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and funded by the New Zealand?s International Aid Development Agency (NZAID).
Bartolome said they first planned to have the simulation drill last year but called it off to smoothen the kinks in the plan.They are now looking forward to have the drill during the second half of this year.
"After elections would be a better time," he said, noting the drill will involve local officials and residents.
He said the drill will also measure the level of awareness of the people and preparedness by concerned agencies like the Department of Health (DOH), local agriculture and veterinary offices, the police and even members of the Avian Influenza Task Force.
Planners said the simulation will have a mock bird flu detection that will be addressed by the rapid response teams clothed with personal protective equipment to gather mocked contaminated samples that will be brought to RAID Laboratory in Pampanga.
Redentor Gatus, the acting regional agriculture director for Central Luzon told The STAR on Tuesday that his men as well as the RAID Laboratory is ready.
He said the two veterinary diagnosticians have undergone training abroad in the past months.
"We have tested the capability of the laboratory before the inauguration by testing a number of blood samples gathered on the field," he said.
Based on documents obtained by The STAR, the RAID laboratory is tasked to tests a total of 6,115 sampled collected since September 2006 collected from different types of poultry in 146 barangays which are considered high-risk areas of Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac, and Aurora.
Similar surveillance is currently conducted in 45 barangays of Bataan, Zambales and Nueva Ecija.
Meanwhile, Yap said the country should maximize its bird flu free status by opening new markets for the country?s poultry products abroad like China, Korea, and Japan.
He said the Philippines is the only country in South East Asia that remains bird flu free.
Yap said the opening of more markets will mean bigger poultry production and more business for local poultry producers.
He said that China alone can absorb 10% of some 600 million annual bird production of the country.
With regards to avian flu prevention, he said the government will open another RAID Laboratory in Calabarzon, adding that Central Luzon is home to 60% of the annual poultry production in the country.
"Central Luzon and Calabarzon are considered high-risk areas because they have large concentration of both commercial and backyard poultry population as well as migratory birds which may serve as carriers of the disease," Yap said.
As this developed, New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines made the assurance that it will continue to help the country as it helped Vietnam and other countries in the South Pacific in the fight against bird flu.
He said everybody must take a pro-active step to fight bird flu and stressed that it is now a regional concern.
For his part, Kazuyuki Tsurumi of the FAO said that it is impossible to eradicate avian influenza in the region and it continues to be a potential threat to livestock. Thus, everybody must work together and public awareness on bird flu campaign must be highly prioritized.
By DINO BALABO
The Philippine Star
MALOLOS CITY?Bulacan?s provincial veterinarian disclosed yesterday that a massive bird flu simulation drill will be conducted within the year to test the preparedness of all sectors, including the newly inaugurated Regional Avian Influenza Diagnostic Laboratory (RAIDL) in Pampanga.
Dr. Felipe Bartolome, Bulacan?s provincial veterinarian, told The STAR that the simulation will be similar to the earthquake drills that the government initiated last year.
He said it will include all sectors and government agencies involved in keeping the country safe and prepared for the dreaded disease that has claimed at least 163 lives in other countries in the past years.
"The Philippines is still bird flu free, but we have to be prepared," said Bartolome, echoing the message of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap at the inauguration of the first state-of-the-art RAID Laboratory in San Fernando City, Pampanga on Tuesday afternoon.
The establishment of the RAID Laboratory is part of the project entitled, "Strengthening Laboratory and Field Surveillance for an Effective Avian Influenza Protection Program" implemented by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) with technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and funded by the New Zealand?s International Aid Development Agency (NZAID).
Bartolome said they first planned to have the simulation drill last year but called it off to smoothen the kinks in the plan.They are now looking forward to have the drill during the second half of this year.
"After elections would be a better time," he said, noting the drill will involve local officials and residents.
He said the drill will also measure the level of awareness of the people and preparedness by concerned agencies like the Department of Health (DOH), local agriculture and veterinary offices, the police and even members of the Avian Influenza Task Force.
Planners said the simulation will have a mock bird flu detection that will be addressed by the rapid response teams clothed with personal protective equipment to gather mocked contaminated samples that will be brought to RAID Laboratory in Pampanga.
Redentor Gatus, the acting regional agriculture director for Central Luzon told The STAR on Tuesday that his men as well as the RAID Laboratory is ready.
He said the two veterinary diagnosticians have undergone training abroad in the past months.
"We have tested the capability of the laboratory before the inauguration by testing a number of blood samples gathered on the field," he said.
Based on documents obtained by The STAR, the RAID laboratory is tasked to tests a total of 6,115 sampled collected since September 2006 collected from different types of poultry in 146 barangays which are considered high-risk areas of Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac, and Aurora.
Similar surveillance is currently conducted in 45 barangays of Bataan, Zambales and Nueva Ecija.
Meanwhile, Yap said the country should maximize its bird flu free status by opening new markets for the country?s poultry products abroad like China, Korea, and Japan.
He said the Philippines is the only country in South East Asia that remains bird flu free.
Yap said the opening of more markets will mean bigger poultry production and more business for local poultry producers.
He said that China alone can absorb 10% of some 600 million annual bird production of the country.
With regards to avian flu prevention, he said the government will open another RAID Laboratory in Calabarzon, adding that Central Luzon is home to 60% of the annual poultry production in the country.
"Central Luzon and Calabarzon are considered high-risk areas because they have large concentration of both commercial and backyard poultry population as well as migratory birds which may serve as carriers of the disease," Yap said.
As this developed, New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines made the assurance that it will continue to help the country as it helped Vietnam and other countries in the South Pacific in the fight against bird flu.
He said everybody must take a pro-active step to fight bird flu and stressed that it is now a regional concern.
For his part, Kazuyuki Tsurumi of the FAO said that it is impossible to eradicate avian influenza in the region and it continues to be a potential threat to livestock. Thus, everybody must work together and public awareness on bird flu campaign must be highly prioritized.