July 12, 2004

Philippines Renews Ban On Chicken Imports From Pakistan

The Philippines said on Friday that a ban on poultry imports from Pakistan and 11 other Asian and North American countries would stay in place. The decision follows fresh bird flu outbreaks in Southeast Asia and the inability of these countries to obtain clearance from the world animal health office.

The ban applies to all chicken or poultry products from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as the state of British Columbia in Canada and some American states: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas.

China, Thailand and Vietnam have all reported new cases in recent days, sparking fears of a resurgence of the winter outbreak that left 24 people dead and devastated the region's poultry industry.

"With the reported recurrence of bird flu in three Asian nations previously hit by bird flu and lacking any report from the world animal health office confirming their success in eliminating the disease, the Philippines is not lifting its ban on chicken imports from these nations," the animal industry bureau said.

Meanwhile, the government plans immediately to set up a laboratory to keep bird flu out of the country.

The laboratory is imperative "as disease outbreaks begin to recur in our neighbour countries, and will increase as the winter season sets in and the migratory birds fly again from northern to southern hemisphere passing through Asia and our country," bureau director Jose Molina said in a statement.

Chinese researchers warned in a study published on Thursday in the British journal "Nature" that there were only slender chances of stamping out the so-called H5N1 virus that causes the disease, as it is firmly established in duck and chicken flocks in China and other countries.