The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) of Nueva Ecija received reports of increased mortalities of 1,500 out of 15,000 quails in one farm in Barangay.

Press briefing by William D. Dar, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and a FB post by Regional Field Office, Zamboanga Peninsula affirms the claim.

Press briefing by William D. Dar, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and a FB post by Regional Field Office, Zamboanga Peninsula affirms the claim.During the briefing on 16 March 2020, Secretary reported that the samples taken from the 1,500 out of 15,000 quails of a farm in Barangay showed positive for avian influenza and to avoid further spreading of virus 12,000 quails were selectively slaughtered. He insisted that the deceased quail's number were confirmed from the Nueva Ecija provincial veterinary office, the Jaen municipal agriculture office, DA Regional Field Office III, and Veterinary Quarantine Service.

In the Facebook post, Regional Field Office, Zamboanga Peninsula confirmed the increased mortalities of quails moreover the Department of Agriculture and local government officials are currently conducting disease investigation and contact tracing to determine the source of infection. Immediate disease control measures to mitigate the spread of the bird virus were set up by the Nueva Ecija provincial veterinary office.