The Department of Agriculture (DA) has reported on Monday that, H5N6 or the highly-pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu, has the potential to affect humans has been detected in a barangay in Jaen in Nueva Ecija.

William Dar, the Agriculture Secretary said that samples from a farm collected in Barangay Ulanin-Pitak which subjected to tests and conducted last Friday (March 13), the results showed these were positive for avian influenza.

The tests were done after the increased mortalities of 1,500 out of a total of 15,000 quails that were reported in one of the farms in the area on March 9.

Dar said, “The highly pathogenic avian influenza is a disease of poultry that can affect humans,” but he noted that the strain has not affected humans in the country so far.

“Globally, there have been only a few cases of human infections and all of these were reported in China,” he added.

Secretions from quails made humans infected, but the Department of agriculture clarified that there has been no human mortality from this so far.

According to Dar, since the DA has imposed a 1-7 protocol where a 1-kilometer radius will be the control zone, and the 7-kilometer radius beyond it will be the surveillance zone

There is a total of 25,000 quails that have been surgically stamped out.

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