Davao del Sur regains bird flu-free status
The province of Davao del Sur has regained its status as a bird flu-free province after resolving an outbreak in November last year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced.
The agency issued the declaration through Memorandum Circular No. 16, after the province met all requirements to reclaim its avian influenza-free status.
Davao del Sur was previously declared free of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in 2022, but the status was revoked following a confirmed case of HPAI subtype H5 in a backyard duck farm in Magsaysay town in November.
“The affected farm in Magsaysay was a backyard facility, a sector often characterized by limited biosecurity measures compared to commercial producers,” the DA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The provincial government of Davao del Sur and the municipal government of Magsaysay, in coordination with the DA’s Regional Field Office in Davao and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), conducted disease investigations, immediate depopulation, cleaning and disinfection, movement restrictions, and surveillance at the affected premises.
Surveillance zones
Monitoring within the 1-kilometer and 7-kilometer surveillance zones surrounding the affected farm yielded negative test results for influenza type A virus. Initial and final cleaning and disinfection operations were also completed.
To date, 16 provinces have fully recovered from avian influenza, including Davao del Sur.
Other provinces include Rizal, Ilocos Sur, Batangas, Capiz, Aurora, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Maguindanao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, Leyte, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Bataan, and Bulacan.
As of March 27, three provinces—Kalinga, Isabela, and Quezon—still have active bird flu cases, according to the BAI’s latest tally.
