December 28, 2012

After determining that an outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) in Utrecht has been contained by the Dutch government, the Philippine's Department of Agriculture has lifted its temporary ban on poultry, eggs and day-old chicks from the Netherlands.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the Department issued a memorandum lifting the ban after the Bureau of Animal Industry declared the risk of avian flu from these products to be "negligible."

The ban was a "precautionary measure" to ensure that local poultry will not be infected with the avian influenza virus, said Alcala.

However, the Philippines maintains the ban it imposed in August on poultry products from Utrecht after LPAI serotype H7N7 was detected in free-range laying hens in a nearby farm. It warned that any shipments from Utrecht of poultry and poultry products, except for heat-treated products, will be confiscated by quarantine officers.

Manila imports the bulk of its poultry products from the US and Canada; the Netherlands is not a major source of the products for the Philippines. In June 2011, the Department imposed a ban on poultry products from another Dutch province, Gelderland, following the outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza.