The Department of Agriculture has declared Cagayan province free from the highly-pathogenic avian influenza after several months of monitoring and other disease control operations.

In a memorandum circular no. 46, Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has declared the province bird flu-free because if has been more than 90 days since the end of the cleaning and disinfection operations and that surveillance activities yielded negative AI test results.

“Our goal is to ensure the country has enough supply of food that is not only affordable but safe for public consumption,” said Secretary Tiu Laurel. “It is also our duty to protect the local poultry industry, which creates millions of jobs and generates billions in investments.”

The DA was placed the entire province under surveillance and close monitoring after the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus was detected in gamefowl raised in the town of Solana in January 2023. Before last year’s avian influenza cases, Cagayan has been free of bird flu due to disease control measures, including biosecurity, cleaning and disinfection, and quarantine activities.

Surveillance activities includes blood collection and testing among wild and domestic birds.

Cagayan province is part of a bird migration path. Migratory bird species may carry the bird flu virus.

Cagayan Valley, which also includes the provinces of Batanes, Isabel, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, accounted for nearly 10 percent of national poultry production in the second quarter of 2024, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed. ###