Bicutan, Taguig City – The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) will be holding a virtual Science Policy and Information Forum on Bird Flu on 18 May 2022, 9:00 – 11:00 AM via Zoom and Facebook Live.
The virtual forum will focus on bird flu, also known as avian flu or avian influenza, is a viral respiratory disease that naturally spreads among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect mainly poultry and certain other avian species.
The recent outbreak of Avian Influenza in some provinces of the Philippines directly affected poultry farms and posed public health risks. The first outbreaks of H5N6 Avian Influenza or bird flu were detected from April to September 2017 in the municipalities of San Luis, Pampanga and Jaen and San Isidro in Nueva Ecija. Unfortunately, on March 8, 2022, eight (8) confirmed new bird flu outbreaks have been recorded from the southern part of Luzon involving 2,000 quails and ducks. In addition to this, bird flu outbreaks have been confirmed in Pampanga, Bulacan, and Laguna.
Two renowned scientists are invited to the forum as resource speakers: Dr. Dennis V. Umali, a leading veterinarian specializing in the Molecular Epidemiology of Poultry and Livestock Diseases and Dr. Nathaniel Tablante, an expert field veterinarian in the Philippines, Canada, and the United States and has more than 30 years of experience in poultry health management, epidemiology, and biosecurity.
This forum aims to (1) determine the status of the confirmed bird flu outbreaks in the Philippines; (2) find out the preventive measures that have already been undertaken here and abroad to control the spread and recurrence of avian influenza; and (3) collate inputs to create a NAST Science Advisory that will complement the efforts made by government and other sectors to contain the spread of the outbreak.
Policymakers, veterinarians from the Bureau of Animal Industry, students, and educators from Private and government owned institutions were invited to attend the virtual forum (Janpherson Lapuz/NAST PHL).
Interested participants may register at https://bit.ly/WebinarOnBirdFlu. The event will also be broadcasted on the NAST PHL Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/nastphl) .