Not virulent to man

Now that we have found out that the bird flu strain found in San Luis, Pampanga, was an H5 and not the H5N1 virulent type, was it necessary to cull thousands of chicken and burn thousands of quail and duck eggs that were to be shipped through the Visayas and Mindanao?

As of this writing, blood tests done in an Australian laboratory certified that the avian flu strain, whether H5N6 or H5N7, are not lethal to humans. I want to repeat, only H5N1 strain is virulent to man and not any other sub-types. The chicken infected could be eaten if cooked well, and eggs too if cooked thoroughly.

ELISEO R. REBLANDO, MD, FPAFP, DFM past president Private Hospital Association of the Philippines