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DA sets early warning systems vs. bird flu virus
In a report to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, BAI Director Davinio Catbagan said the systems are being set up to orient barangay task forces on bird flu and the reporting process for bird flu suspects ? both in poultry and humans ? as well as the possible smuggling of poultry and exotic birds in their localities.
At the same time, training sessions and workshops are being conducted to familiarize the veterinary service on the proper collection, handling, storage and submission of tissue and blood samples, said the report.
BAI is also implementing an Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (AVET) Program to build up the capacity of field veterinary services in designing and managing disease surveillance, conducting outbreak investigation and effective outbreak containment measures.
Contingency Planning Workshops were conducted by the BAI, in coordination with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), in the regions to ensure that local government units have their respective plans in place in the event of a 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 outbreak. Such workshops are being replicated at the provincial and city levels, he added.
?Besides these measures, surveillance is done in the 20 critical areas as well as in other parts of the country every six months, especially during the migration season of October to February," he said. ?The DA is also continually upgrading the capacity of our national and regional animal laboratories."
?So far, a total of 46,214 samples were tested since year 2005 and were found to be negative for the Highly Pathogenic AI (HPAI) virus," Catbagan said.
He said the DA is also providing assistance to LGUS to ensure that all provinces, cities and municipalities, especially those within these 20 critical areas, have the four elements of preparedness: task force, local ordinance, preparedness plan, and resource inventory.
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. ?Unlicensed cargos are also confiscated and destroyed."
A World Health Organization (WHO) reported said that as of end-January, there were 403 laboratory-confirmed cases of the bird flu and 254 fatalities from the disease since the H5N1 strain of the virus broke out in Southeast Asia in 2003 and then spread across the rest of the continent, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Earlier, the DA opened its fourth avian flu laboratory facility in Zamboanga City.
The AI laboratory in Zamboanga City is the second in Mindanao. Another one is in Cagayan de Oro City.
Other AI testing facilities are located in San Fernando City in Pampanga and Cebu City.
The laboratories in Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Cebu and San Fernando, Pampanga 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. - GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/148820/DA-sets-early-warning-systems-vs-bird-flu-virus
02/14/2009 | 04:17 PM javascript:void(0)
MANILA, Philippines ? A community-based early warning systems (CBEWS) is being installed in selected barangays considered in high risk of contracting the Avian Influenza or bird flu virus, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said on Saturday.In a report to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, BAI Director Davinio Catbagan said the systems are being set up to orient barangay task forces on bird flu and the reporting process for bird flu suspects ? both in poultry and humans ? as well as the possible smuggling of poultry and exotic birds in their localities.
At the same time, training sessions and workshops are being conducted to familiarize the veterinary service on the proper collection, handling, storage and submission of tissue and blood samples, said the report.
BAI is also implementing an Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (AVET) Program to build up the capacity of field veterinary services in designing and managing disease surveillance, conducting outbreak investigation and effective outbreak containment measures.
Contingency Planning Workshops were conducted by the BAI, in coordination with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), in the regions to ensure that local government units have their respective plans in place in the event of a 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 outbreak. Such workshops are being replicated at the provincial and city levels, he added.
?Besides these measures, surveillance is done in the 20 critical areas as well as in other parts of the country every six months, especially during the migration season of October to February," he said. ?The DA is also continually upgrading the capacity of our national and regional animal laboratories."
?So far, a total of 46,214 samples were tested since year 2005 and were found to be negative for the Highly Pathogenic AI (HPAI) virus," Catbagan said.
He said the DA is also providing assistance to LGUS to ensure that all provinces, cities and municipalities, especially those within these 20 critical areas, have the four elements of preparedness: task force, local ordinance, preparedness plan, and resource inventory.
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. ?Unlicensed cargos are also confiscated and destroyed."
A World Health Organization (WHO) reported said that as of end-January, there were 403 laboratory-confirmed cases of the bird flu and 254 fatalities from the disease since the H5N1 strain of the virus broke out in Southeast Asia in 2003 and then spread across the rest of the continent, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Earlier, the DA opened its fourth avian flu laboratory facility in Zamboanga City.
The AI laboratory in Zamboanga City is the second in Mindanao. Another one is in Cagayan de Oro City.
Other AI testing facilities are located in San Fernando City in Pampanga and Cebu City.
The laboratories in Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Cebu and San Fernando, Pampanga 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. - GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/148820/DA-sets-early-warning-systems-vs-bird-flu-virus