Migratory Birds May Spread Bird Flu To Philippines - PHILIPPINES - Migratory birds may still spread the deadly bird flu to the Philippines, despite its geographic isolation and strict poultry quarantines, an official said.

"Don't feed them, don't go near them, don't touch them," Ronel Avila, quarantine chief at the agriculture department said over ABS-CBN television.

Migratory birds from the Asian mainland spend winter in the Philippines or pass through the islands on their way to points south.

Wild ducks and geese among them are hunted as delicacies in several areas, including the Candaba swamps north of Manila.

The Philippines has banned all Asian poultry imports amid a bird flu outbreak sweeping through Asian nations.

The archipelago buys poultry products only from Canada, Europe and the United States, and Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit has said the possibility of the virus being carried into the Philippines was "very minimal".

Source: eFeedLink - 28th January 2004