AVIAN INFLUENZA PROTECTION PROGRAM

STAGE 1
Manual of Procedures

A. PREVENTION PROGRAMS
Section 1: Ban on Importation of all Live Domestic and Wild Poultry and of all Poultry Products from Avian Influenza
(AI) Affected Countries
Section 2: Minimum Biosecurity Measures
Section 3: Surveillance and Prevention Programs in Airports and Seaports
Section 4: Surveillance of Poultry in Critical Areas in the Philippines
Section 5: Enforcement of the Wildlife Act
Section 6: Preventive Measures in Humans

Section 1. Ban on Importation of all Live Domestic and Wild Poultry and of all Poultry Products from Avian Influenza (AI) Affected
Countries

1. The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) upon the recommendation of the Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry
(BAI) shall issue an Administrative Order (AO) imposing a temporary ban on the importation of all live domestic and wild poultry
and/or all poultry products from AI-affected countries.

o BAI-DA shall source information from the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), World Health Organization (WHO)
or the notification of an AI-affected country in drafting an AO on any ban on importation. This shall be verified with the
OIE.
o The National Veterinary Quarantine Services (NVQS) of BAI shall draft the AO for endorsement for approval by the
Director of BAI to the Secretary of DA through the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Livestock.
o Upon approval by the Secretary of DA, the MO shall be published in the gazette of the University of the Philippines Law
Center.
o The Undersecretary for Policy and Planning shall notify the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the importation ban.
o The BAI-DA will furnish the listed agencies a copy of the said AO within three (3) days upon approval by the Secretary
of DA. However, an advance verbal notice can be relayed to all concerned parties upon confirmation that a country is AI-
affected.

2. The BAI-DA will furnish the listed agencies a copy of the said AO within three (3) days upon approval by the Secretary of DA.
However, an advance verbal notice can be relayed to all concerned parties upon confirmation that a country is AI-affected.

o All importers of live poultry and/or poultry products

o Office of the Press Secretary
o Embassies
o Department of Agriculture
 National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS)
o Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
 DENR Secretary
 Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB)
o Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC)
 DOTC Secretary
 Air Transportation Office
 Manila International Airport Authority
 Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority
 Philippine Ports Authority
 Philippine Coast Guard
 Cebu Ports Authority
o Department of Finance (DOF)
 Bureau of Customs
 Office of the Commissioner
 Intelligence and Enforcement Group, Intelligence Division
 Ports and Sub-ports District Collectors Office
 o Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
 DILG Secretary
 Local Government Bureaus
o Philippine National Police (PNP)
 PNP Chief
 Aviations Security Group
 Maritime Group
o Department of Health (DOH)
 DOH Secretary

3. The NVQS-BAI shall immediately suspend the processing of all import documents for live poultry and/or poultry products and the
issuance of a Veterinary Quarantine Clearance / Import Permit from a country declared as AI affected. All affected importers shall
be advised accordingly.

4. Upon declaration that a country is AI-affected, Veterinary Quarantine Clearance(s)/ Import Permit(s) for live domestic and wild
poultry and/or poultry products approved prior to the declaration, by which arrival of the importation has not yet occurred, shall be
suspended by the NVQS-BAI. The concerned importers and exporters shall be advised by the BAI-DA accordingly.

o Any live poultry and/or poultry product importation in transit prior to declaration by OIE of its source country or
transshipment country as AI- affected shall not be allowed entry into the Philippines.
o The BAI-DA shall advise the exporting country of the decision to have cargo entry discontinued and the courses of action
to be taken by the Philippines
 Live poultry cargo importation will be destroyed / slaughtered upon arrival in the Philippines.

 Processed poultry product importation will be returned to the exporting country.

Section 2. Minimum Biosecurity Measures

1. All poultry holding facilities should have a documentation or recording of movement to and from the facility. The documentation
should cover all live poultry, poultry products and by-products, feeds, farm personnel, visitors and supplies and equipment.

o Poultry holding facilities include commercial farms, backyard units, hatcheries, processing plants, slaughter houses,
aviaries, and feed mills.
o A logbook should be maintained at all times by the security guard at the main gate of the poultry establishment.
o Entries in the logbook should include the following:

 Name of person
 Time of arrival & departure
 Vehicle Plate number (if applicable)
 Last poultry or livestock facility visited & date
 Next poultry or livestock facility to be visited & date
 Purpose of visit
 Description of items brought into/out of the farm and the corresponding source/destination

2. Strict implementation of rest period (the time interval from the first disinfection to the loading of the next batch of poultry) and of
the proper disinfection procedures of farmhouses and other structures in the farm should be enforced.

o The recommended minimum number of days of rest period shall be:

 For poultry in an all-in-all-out set-up: 7 days
 For game fowls: growing houses: 14 days
 adult compartments: 30 days
 For adult layers / caged ducks: 14 days

3. Biosecurity control points (e.g. gates, shower rooms, footbaths, fumigation boxes) should be in place.
 4. Poultry houses, feed storage room and egg room should be inaccessible to stray animals and free flying birds.

o Since free-range poultry cannot be bird-proofed, owners should take extra precautions against free flying birds.

5. All poultry mortalities should be disposed of properly within farm premises or own backyard through burial, composting or
incineration in accordance with existing laws and local ordinances.

6. Domestic ducks and other free-range poultry should not be raised in wetlands with migratory birds.

o Domestic ducks and other free-range poultry should not be permitted to roam or be raised in areas frequented by
migratory birds. This activity can be done only with approval of the RFU-DA and LGUs.

o Domestic ducks and other poultry species should be raised in bird-proofed houses or area to prevent contact with
migratory birds and other poultry species.

7. Poultry and swine must not be grown in the same holding facility.
Section 3. Surveillance and Prevention Programs in Airports and Seaports

1. All international and domestic airports & seaports shall have footbath installations to be placed at the nearest possible point from
disembarkation from the plane or vessel.

o The footbath will have a minimum dimension of 4 ft. x 8 ft. A barrier along the covered pathway with the footbath shall
be set-up to ensure that all persons are to walk on the footbath with disinfectant (See Annex 1 on footbath design and
estimated cost).
o Signage on the Bird Flu Prevention should be in place to inform all disembarking passengers to step on the footbath.
o The assigned DA Quarantine Officer must ensure that the footbath disinfectants are replaced at the start of the day and
replenished prior to every flight/vessel arrival.
o The prescribed disinfectant and dilution rate should be followed. (See Annex 2 on the prescribed disinfectant and dilution
rate).

2. The BAI-DA shall furnish key personnel of the concerned agencies copies of memorandum order(s) on temporary bans on
importation from country/ies affected by Avian Influenza. The lifting of a previously issued temporary ban on importation from a
country shall also be furnished (Refer to Section 1.2 for list of agencies).

3. The assigned authorities of the Bureau of Customs-DOF and the PNP-Aviation Security Group are to inspect luggage of travelers
on direct flight from or in-transit through an AI-affected country.

o The discovery of any live poultry and/or poultry products is to be immediately reported to the DA-Quarantine Officer
and/or the PNP-Aviation Security Group or PNP-Maritime Group for confiscation and disposal. Disposal will be carried
out by incineration.

4. The DOF-Bureau of Customs District Collectors, PNP-Aviation Security Group and/or PNP-Maritime Group will temporarily keep
in custody all live poultry and/or poultry products, regardless of point of origin, that do not have proper import licenses/ permits /
documentation or government clearance from the BAI or DA-NMIS.

o This commodity will be reported to the DA-Quarantine Officer and representatives of agencies in the Anti-Smuggling
Intelligence and Investigation Center (ASIIC) - Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Customs, Philippine National
Police or Philippine Coast Guard - for carrying out the necessary protocol on smuggling.

5. All imported poultry and poultry products coming from an AI-free country shall be screened for the Avian Influenza Virus (AIV)
upon arrival at the airport or seaport. (See Annex 3 for details of sampling and testing procedures).
Section 4. Surveillance of Poultry in Critical Areas in the Philippines

1. The BAI-DA shall conduct surveillance of the twenty (20) identified critical areas in the Philippines on a bi-annual basis. The 20
critical areas are as follows:
 • Ilocos Norte - Pagudpod
• Cagayan – Aparri
• Isabela – Magat Dam
• Pampanga – Candaba swamp
• Mindoro – Naujan Lake
• Sorsogon – Bulan and Matnog
• Quezon, Palawan
• Cebu – Olango Island
• Panay Island - Roxas and Capiz
• Negros Occidental – Himamaylan
• Surigao del Norte
• Surigao del Sur
• Agusan del Norte – Lake Mainit
• Agusan del Sur
• Cotabato – Ligwasan Marsh in Kabacan
• General Santos City
• Zamboanga del Norte
• Zamboanga del Sur
• Zamboanga City
• Sibugay Province

• The surveillance in the critical areas shall be done in coordination with the RFU-DA.
• The target poultry population during the surveillance shall be the native chickens, ducks, turkeys, backyard game fowls and quails.
• For every critical area, six (6) barangays shall be identified for sample collection. Thirty (30) blood samples and 30 cloacal/tracheal
swabs shall be collected from target poultry in the identified barangays.
• The blood samples shall be tested in the Philippine Animal Health Center (PAHC) of BAI-DA using ELISA (Enzyme-linked
Immunosorbent Assay) test. AGPT (Agar Gel Precipitin Test) and HI (Hemagglutination Inhibition) shall be done to validate blood
sample(s) testing positive in ELISA.

 The Protected Areas and Wild Life Bureau (PAWB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (PAWB-DENR) shall report
any occurrence of dead migratory or wild bird/s and shall submit the dead bird sample/s for diagnosis and laboratory testing.

• The PAWB-DENR representative should wrap the dead bird in at least two (2) tightly sealed plastic packs and placed in a leak-
proof container with ice pack before this is transported to the PAHC.

• The dead bird sample(s) should be submitted to PAHC immediately for necropsy or virus isolation.
Section 5. Enforcement of the Wildlife Act

1. The (PAWB-DENR) shall coordinate with the authorities of the Local Government Units of the Department of Interior (LGU-
DILG) and the PNP-Provincial District Offices and the PNP-City or Municipal Stations on the enforcement of the RA. 9147, or the
Wildlife Act.

2. The PAWB-DENR shall suspend and/or disapprove the issuance of any CITES certification for wildlife coming from AI-affected
countries.

3. The Secretary of DENR shall suspend any permit to collect exotic species of poultry wildlife, regardless of collection technique
and/or purpose.
o Any person engaged in trade or in possession of exotic species of poultry wildlife shall be accordingly penalized as
stipulated in Chapter IV (Illegal Acts) of RA 9147. This activity is to be enforced in coordination with the authorities of
the DILG-Local Government Bureaus or PNP-City/Municipal Police Station.

4. PAWB-DENR shall release a public information campaign on precautionary measures in dealing with migratory birds, especially
from November to March (the peak season of migration through the Philippines).

5. PAWB-DENR shall conduct periodic research studies on the population, destination and species of migratory birds passing through
the different areas of the Philippines.
Section 6. Preventive Measures in Humans

1. All workers directly or indirectly involved with handling live poultry should be given the current season’s influenza vaccine to
reduce the possibility of dual infection with human and influenza viruses.

o The Department of Health (DOH) shall coordinate with vaccine suppliers on the yearly availability and reasonable cost of
the Influenza vaccine for humans, especially for those stated in 6.1.
o The yearly vaccination of poultry workers and/or employees with regular or periodic direct contact with poultry shall be
at the expense of the employer.

2. Occupations at risk for exposure to avian influenza

o Domestic fowl worker (poultry boys, farm hands, etc.)
o Domestic fowl processing plant worker
o Domestic fowl culler (catching, bagging, or transporting birds, disposing of dead birds)
o Worker in live animal market (viajeros, drivers, helpers, sellers)
o Chef working with live or recently killed domestic fowl
o Owner, dealer or trader in pet birds
o Health care worker
o Veterinarians / technical consultants
o Truckers of live birds

3. Close contact or exposure to poultry includes:

o Contact (within 1 meter) with live or dead domestic fowl or wild birds
o Exposure to settings where domestic fowl were or had been confined in the previous 6 weeks
o Contact (within touching or speaking distance) with a person for whom the diagnosis of influenza A (H5N1) is being
considered.
o Contact (within touching or speaking distance) with a person with an unexplained acute respiratory illness that later
resulted in death

4. The DOH shall ensure the availability of prophylactic medicines for humans in the event of an outbreak of Avian Influenza in
poultry.
5. Persons not directly involved in taking care of poultry should avoid contact with chickens, ducks or other live poultry as much as
possible. Children, in any instance, should be discouraged from handling live poultry.
6. For vaccinated and/or unvaccinated persons with contact with live poultry, ensure that necessary cleaning, washing of hands and
when possible, disinfection with commercial 70% alcohol, be done before coming in contact with children, elderly or any person
with reduced protection due to any form of sickness.

7. The DOH shall regularly release advisory on proper cooking of poultry meat.

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Source: The National Avian Influenza Task Force (NAITF)