The Department of Agriculture declared that the province of Benguet is now free from avian influenza, or bird flu.

The virus was first detected in the said Northern Luzon province in the last two years, after the initial case of the H5N1 strain infection was confirmed through laboratory testing.

According to DA, early cases of the H5N1 strain infections were detected between February and September 2022 in various fowl, including layer and native chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese, in Baguio City and the towns of Atok, Buguias, Itogon, La Trinidad, Sablan, and Tublay in Benguet.

The declaration follows Benguet’s immediate depopulation, cleaning and disinfection, mobility restrictions, and surveillance in areas surrounding affected farms, including the implementation of stricter biosecurity measures that resulted in negative results.

Currently, nine provinces are confirmed to still have the bird flu.

The Bureau of Animal Industry confirmed to GMA News that these provinces are Laguna, Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Kalinga, Bataan, Cagayan, and Sultan Kudarat.

There have been zero reported cases of bird flu this year.

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, avian influenza is a disease of birds caused by infection with avian influenza A viruses.

They noted that: "People rarely get bird flu; however, human infections with bird flu viruses can happen if enough virus is inhaled or gets into a person’s mouth, eyes, or nose."

"Bird flu infections happen most often after someone has close, prolonged, and unprotected (no gloves or other personal protective equipment) contact with infected birds and then touches their mouth, eyes, or nose."