The landmark policy decision was made after the Department of Agriculture published the guidelines on the targeted use of bird flu vaccines to complement the efforts against the transboundary animal disease.
Panganiban emphasized that the HPAI H5N1 strain has been “continuously affecting” the country’s poultry industry ever since the confirmation of the first case in January 2022. 49, signed by Panganiban, read.The MC, which was signed last November 3, outlined the guidelines on the targeted vaccination as a complementary for the control of bird flu.
The use of the bird flu vaccines, however, is not mandatory, according to the DA. The DA left the discretion on the use of vaccines against bird flu to the poultry raisers. Under the guidelines, the following avian types are eligible for vaccination: commercial layer chicken, layer breeder, broiler breeder, colored/free-range breeder, grandparent broiler breeder, small-hold layer/native chicken, duck, game fowl, turkey and goose.
“These bird flu vaccines are not new anymore and are widely used already and yet the government does not have urgency to allow the use of them. It is the season again for migratory birds and any damage to the industry because of the absence of these vaccines should be attributed to the government,” United Broiler Raisers Association President Elias Jose Inciong told the BusinessMirror.