Another disease outbreak announced amid coronavirus pandemic

The Philippines has detected an outbreak of avian flu in a northern province.

This was after tests showed the presence of the highly infectious H5N6 subtype in a quail farm.

Reuters reports that one of country’s top officials made the announcement.

William Dar, Agriculture Secretary, explained that the bird flu virus was discovered in Jaen municipality in Nueva Ecija province, where about 1,500 quails died on one.

He said 12,000 quails have been destroyed and buried to prevent further infections.

“We are on top of the situation. Surveillance around the 1km and 7km radius will be carried out immediately to ensure that the disease has not progressed around the said perimeter”, Dar noted.

“We would like to emphasise that this is a single case affecting one quail farm only,” Mr Dar said.

Dr Arlene Vytiaco, spokesman for Avian Flu at the Agriculture Department, noted that there is a slim possibility of transmission to humans through excretion and secretion.

The news came as the coronavirus pandemic ravages the world.

The disease has claimed 6,000 lives and affected about 150 countries in three months.