May 15, 2008

Philippines to resume poultry imports from Germany

The Philippines has removed the temporary ban on the German imports of domestic and wild birds and their products including poultry meat, day-old chicks and eggs after the international animal health agency reported no new bird flu outbreaks in the country.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced this after the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) has reported no bird flu incident occurred within 90 days in Germany after the cleaning and disinfection of infected premises in infected poultry farms conducted last December 26.

With the lifting of the ban, the Bureau of Animal Industry resumed the issuance of veterinary quarantine clearance for importing domestic and wild birds from Germany.

The temporary ban was imposed by the Philippines in July 2007, after the bird flu virus subtype H5N1 was detected in geese and ducks in the province of Thuringen in the district of Saalfelder Hohe.

While Germany is not a main source of poultry imports, Philippine agriculture secretary Arthur Yap said that the memo ban was put in place to prevent travellers from bringing in birds and similar products from Germany.

The DA said the ban is necessary to prevent the entry of the AI virus to protect the health of the local poultry population.

Currently, the Philippines is one among  few Asian countries that have remained free from the dreaded AI virus, which has since severely affected poultry industries in the region and caused the deaths of scores of people.