12/14/2008 | 04:47 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Politics in the local level has been hindering the government’s efforts to prevent the dreaded bird flu virus from reaching the country’s shores, according to an official from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
“There’s more work to be done,” admitted Dr Gracia Flores of BAI’s Animal Health Division in a seminar held last week in Clark Field in Pampanga.
Bird flu, or avian influenza (AI), is an infectious disease caused by the H5N1 virus. All birds are believed to be susceptible to it, although some species are reported to be more resistant to infection than others. Some forms of bird flu can also afflict humans.
The four-year-old campaign against bird flu started in February 5, 2004 when President Arroyo ordered the creation of an anti-bird flu task force through Executive Order No. 280. The task force is headed by the Department of Health (DOH) and the co-headed by the Department of Agriculture (DA), to which BAI is an attached agency.
EO 280 is backed up by a memo circular from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) dated March 30, 2004 tasking local government units to support the national government’s efforts against bird flu.
The DILG order paved the way to the creation of local anti-bird flue task forces within the provincial and the municipal/city levels.
But even though four years have already gone by, some municipalities/cities are yet to comply with the order. Flores said it all boils down to two things: Politics and priorities.
“We’re in a phase wherein we’re putting contingency plans in place. It’s a developing thing. We’re practicing in smaller government units. But the problem is, politics and priorities of LGUs sometimes hinder us,” Flores told seminar attendees.
Dr Emelinda Lopez, also of BAI’s Animal Health Division, concurred with Flores.
“We all know that in Philippine setting, especially at LGUs, when a new administration takes over, sometimes they have new priorities that supplant the priorities of the previous administration,” Lopez said.
At present, the government has identified 20 bird flu “hotspots” around the country, most of them in Mindanao. Increased monitoring activities for any signs of outbreak have already been implemented in these areas.
Reynaldo Soriano, AI coordinator of Linking Initiatives and Networking to Control Tuberculosis (TB LINC), said special attention has been given to three areas for having “unique” characteristics that make them at risk to bird flu. These areas are:
* Municipality of Minalin in Pampanga, which is considered as the “egg basket” of Central Luzon for its large scale commercial broiler and layer industry;
* Negros Occidental, where gamefowl breeding is a large industry; and
* General Santos City, because of its proximity to Indonesia, already devastated by the effects of bird flu.
Lopez, Flores and Soriano were one in assuring the public that the Philippines is still bird flu-free, and that tests conducted on 40,706 suspected H5N1 carriers from 2005 to 2008 had all been proven negative.
To lessen the chances of the virus entering into the country, the government has banned the importation of birds from identified AI-affected countries.
BAI however admitted that the work is not yet over. As Lopez put it: “As I speak now, many things are still happening regarding the disease.”
“We must not be complacent. Kailangang may ginagawa tayo (Our work is not over yet),” Flores said for her part. - Karl Kaufman, GMANews.TV
MANILA, Philippines - Politics in the local level has been hindering the government’s efforts to prevent the dreaded bird flu virus from reaching the country’s shores, according to an official from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
“There’s more work to be done,” admitted Dr Gracia Flores of BAI’s Animal Health Division in a seminar held last week in Clark Field in Pampanga.
Bird flu, or avian influenza (AI), is an infectious disease caused by the H5N1 virus. All birds are believed to be susceptible to it, although some species are reported to be more resistant to infection than others. Some forms of bird flu can also afflict humans.
The four-year-old campaign against bird flu started in February 5, 2004 when President Arroyo ordered the creation of an anti-bird flu task force through Executive Order No. 280. The task force is headed by the Department of Health (DOH) and the co-headed by the Department of Agriculture (DA), to which BAI is an attached agency.
EO 280 is backed up by a memo circular from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) dated March 30, 2004 tasking local government units to support the national government’s efforts against bird flu.
The DILG order paved the way to the creation of local anti-bird flue task forces within the provincial and the municipal/city levels.
But even though four years have already gone by, some municipalities/cities are yet to comply with the order. Flores said it all boils down to two things: Politics and priorities.
“We’re in a phase wherein we’re putting contingency plans in place. It’s a developing thing. We’re practicing in smaller government units. But the problem is, politics and priorities of LGUs sometimes hinder us,” Flores told seminar attendees.
Dr Emelinda Lopez, also of BAI’s Animal Health Division, concurred with Flores.
“We all know that in Philippine setting, especially at LGUs, when a new administration takes over, sometimes they have new priorities that supplant the priorities of the previous administration,” Lopez said.
At present, the government has identified 20 bird flu “hotspots” around the country, most of them in Mindanao. Increased monitoring activities for any signs of outbreak have already been implemented in these areas.
Reynaldo Soriano, AI coordinator of Linking Initiatives and Networking to Control Tuberculosis (TB LINC), said special attention has been given to three areas for having “unique” characteristics that make them at risk to bird flu. These areas are:
* Municipality of Minalin in Pampanga, which is considered as the “egg basket” of Central Luzon for its large scale commercial broiler and layer industry;
* Negros Occidental, where gamefowl breeding is a large industry; and
* General Santos City, because of its proximity to Indonesia, already devastated by the effects of bird flu.
Lopez, Flores and Soriano were one in assuring the public that the Philippines is still bird flu-free, and that tests conducted on 40,706 suspected H5N1 carriers from 2005 to 2008 had all been proven negative.
To lessen the chances of the virus entering into the country, the government has banned the importation of birds from identified AI-affected countries.
BAI however admitted that the work is not yet over. As Lopez put it: “As I speak now, many things are still happening regarding the disease.”
“We must not be complacent. Kailangang may ginagawa tayo (Our work is not over yet),” Flores said for her part. - Karl Kaufman, GMANews.TV
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