Manila, March 6 -- The Department of Agriculture in Bicol (DA-5) on Thursday said Camarines Norte has been declared bird influenza-free after a successful containment effort, following an isolated case in December.

In a report on Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the province has met the World Organization for Animal Health's (WOAH) criteria of not logging any new cases for at least 28 days, since reporting a single case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N2 detected in a backyard duck farm in Talisay last December.

Following the case in December, the local government unit, in coordination with the DA-5 and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), quickly implemented stringent control strategy, inc...