The Philippines has only two active cases of avian influenza (AI), the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said Thursday.
BAI officer-in-charge Director Christian Daquigan issued the statement to counter reports of three active bird flu cases.
“We would like to clarify that the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry is the sole official source of AI case reporting in the Philippines. As of April 18, 2025, there were only two active cases, both located in Pampanga,” Daquigan said. “The last confirmed AI case in Tarlac was on Oct. 3, 2024, while Nueva Ecija’s most recent case was on Sept. 20, 2024.”
He also clarified that Leyte province was declared AI-free under DA Memorandum Circular No. 44, Series of 2024, signed on Oct. 29, 2024, by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. The case in Leyte was also confirmed as resolved in the World Animal Health Information System.
Daquigan said that while 52 municipalities across eight provinces have yet to regain their AI-free status as of April 18, 2025, “this does not indicate the presence of active cases.”
“Rather, these are just provisions/procedures which still have to be complied with before they could achieve their AI-free status, as outlined in BAI MC No. 25, s. 2022,” he said.
