The Philippines has lifted a temporary import ban on domestic and wild birds and poultry products from Germany it imposed late last year.

"Based on the evaluation of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the risk of contamination from importing poultry and poultry products from Germany is negligible," said Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla.

The Philippines imposed the ban on wild birds and poultry products from Germany after the OIE confirmed an outbreak of avian influenza (AI) in the European country.

Germany, however, is not a traditional source of poultry meat and day-old chicks for the Philippines.

Manila issued a temporary ban on poultry products from countries with confirmed cases of bird flu to protect its own poultry industry and safeguard its citizens' health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported, as of mid-December, a total of 445 laboratory-confirmed cases of bird flu and 263 fatalities from the disease since the virus broke out in South-east Asia in 2003 and then spread across the rest of the continent, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Of all the countries in South-east Asia, only the Philippines, Brunei and Singapore have remained AI-free.

The Philippines government has set up community-based early-warning systems (CBEWSs) in selected barangays identified as in high risk of contracting the AI virus.

These CBEWSs were established to orient barangay AI task forces on the bird flu and the reporting process for AI suspects (both in poultry and humans), as well as the possible smuggling of poultry and exotic birds in their localities.