Philippines bans poultry products from Denmark municipality

The Philippines agriculture department announced recently that it would no longer allow the entry of poultry products originating from Naestved, Denmark after an outbreak of bird flu in the area.

The virus causing avian flu has been detected in chickens at a mallard breeding farm in Fuglebjerg in Naestved municipality, according to a report to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE)

"There is a need to prevent the entry of virus to protect the health of the local poultry population. As such, we are banning the importation of domestic and wild birds as well poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen," the notice read.

The agriculture department added it would no longer process applications to import these products. The Philippines, Singapore and Brunei remain the only bird flu-free countries in Southeast Asia since the virus resurfaced in 2003.

According to Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, the country imported 548 million kilogrammes of poultry and livestock products last year, of which 32,000 kilogrammes worth US$335,000 came from Denmark.