October 7, 2013

Philippines bans import of poultry from Taiwan

Following reports of an outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza or LPAI in the township of Yuli, Hua-lien, the Philippines' Department of Agriculture imposed a ban on poultry meat products, domestic and wild birds including day old chicks, eggs and semen from Taiwan.

Ping-Cheng Yang, director of the Animal Technology Institute Taiwan, reported to the Office International Des Epizooties (OIE), about the outbreak of LPAI serotype H5N3 which was isolated from a duck farm in the township on July 16, 2013. The presence of the virus was confirmed on August 2, 2013.

Philippine Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala ordered a freeze on all imports of domestic and wild birds from Taiwan to keep domestic poultry population from being infected, the department noted in an e-mailed statement.

Alcala said that all processing and evaluation of applications for Veterinary Quarantine Clearance on importing all related commodities from Taiwan were suspended.

As outbreaks of bird flu have repeatedly struck Taiwan, veterinary inspectors in all major ports of entry in the Philippines were ordered to stop all shipments of poultry meat and similar products from Taiwan.

In November 2012, the Agriculture Department lifted a temporary ban on importing poultry products from Taiwan after global animal health authorities issued a clearance that it was free from bird flu contamination. But outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N2 (HPAI H5N2) was discovered in a chicken farm in Taiwan a month later.