Australian laboratory confirms bird flu virus in Pampanga

August 22, 2017

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol showed the result from Australian Animal Health Laboratory confirming the presence of bird flu in Pampanga to debunk comments it was hasty in declaring the presence of the virus

“Australian Animal Health Laboratory confirms positive presence of bird flu in San Luis using samples… that will put to rest now all those arguments whether DA (Department of Agriculture) is hasty and careless”, Piñol said in a press conference on Tuesday.

The agriculture department banned shipments of poultry products within a seven kilometer radius controlled area from Luzon to other parts of the country on August 15.

He said the agriculture department conducted four laboratory tests after the incident was reported on August 3.

“Four laboratory tests and all of these pointed to positive presence of the bird flu in San Luis Pampanga”, he said.

The avian influenza (AI) subtype H5 has tested negative in H5N1 which showed that the flu is not infectious to human, he said.

Piñol said they are waiting for the result of the N component of the flu to completely say the flu cannot be transmitted to humans.

Arlene Vytiaco, head of animal disease and control section at the Bureau of Animal Industry, the Australian Animal Health Laboratory will release the result within three days. Alanna Ambi/DMS