August 31, 2012

Due to the outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI), the Philippine government has issued a temporary ban against imported poultry from Utrecht in the Netherlands.

The Department of Agriculture issued a memorandum Thursday (Aug 30), which reported that the LPAI serotype H7N7 was detected in free range laying hens in a Hagestein last August 9.

Philippine quarantine officers will confiscate all shipments of poultry and poultry products (with the exception on heat treated products) from Utrecht.

The last time the Philippines imposed a ban on poultry imports from the Netherlands was in June last year. The government banned poultry meat, wild birds, and other poultry products from Gelderland following the outbreak of LPAI in that area.

So far, the Philippines remains free from avian influenza. The virus spread in Southeast Asia and caused billions of losses in poultry industries in the region.