Philippine troops to help cull thousands of fowl in bird flu battle
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[August 16, 2017] MANILA
(Reuters) - The Philippines will deploy hundreds of troops to hasten a
cull of about 600,000 fowl, the farm minister said on Wednesday, as part
of efforts to rein in the Southeast Asian nation's first outbreak of
bird flu.
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There has been no case of human transmission after the flu was
detected on a farm in the province of Pampanga, about 75 km (47
miles) north of the capital Manila, but it has spread to about 36
other farms and nearly 40,000 birds have died.
"I have asked the Philippine army to provide us with additional warm
bodies to help us in depopulating the farms," Agriculture Secretary
Emmanuel Pinol told a news conference.
"Six hundred thousand is no mean job. Our personnel are facing a
difficult task and we lack people."
Pinol said the government had about 200 men in the area, but fewer
than 20,000 birds had been culled since the outbreak was reported.
Brigadier-General Rodel Mairo Alarcon said at least 300 soldiers
would be sent to the province on Thursday to assist in the cull of
chicken, quail and ducks.
"The Philippines army and the Armed Forces of the Philippines is 100
percent in support of this effort," Alarcon said.
Soldiers will be given protective gear and doses of a drug, Tamiflu,
to guard them against possible infection.
Two sick farm workers from the area have tested negative for the
virus, health ministry spokesman Eric Tayag said.
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Although the health ministry has yet to identify the specific strain
of the virus that hit the Philippines, health and farm officials say
initial tests have ruled out the highly pathogenic H5N1.
Samples are being sent to Australia for further testing to determine
the presence of the N6 variety of the strain.
The Philippines is the latest country in Asia, Africa and Europe and
Africa to suffer the spread of bird flu viruses in recent months.
Many strains only infect birds, but the H7N9 strain has led to human
cases, including deaths, in China.
(Reporting by Roland Ng and Manuel Mogato; Editing by Martin Petty
and Clarence Fernandez)
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