MANILA – The entry of imported domestic and wild birds, as well as its by-products from the US states of Maryland and Missouri are temporarily banned to prevent the spread of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Tuesday.
The banned poultry products include meat, eggs, day-old chicks, and semen from these areas.
“The quick escalation of bird flu cases in the US since its first detection demands a more extensive coverage of trade restrictions to prevent the entry of the virus,” DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.
Tiu Laurel earlier said around 145 million chickens have been culled in the US due to HPAI.
At least 13.2 million birds were said to be affected in confirmed infected premises in Maryland and Missouri, following the outbreak reported last Jan. 23, with 89 flocks testing positive for bird flu, the Deputy Administrator and Chief Veterinary Officer of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said.
The first case in Maryland was detected on Jan. 14.
Tiu Laurel said the broader restriction, under Memorandum Order No. 7, is needed to protect the country’s local poultry population.
The order likewise suspends the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for poultry products from the two US states.
The entry of shipments that are already in transit or accepted at the port, however, will be allowed if “they were slaughtered or produced at least 14 days before the first reported outbreak.”
Earlier, the DA imposed an import ban in South Dakota, United States following an outbreak of a similar strain; as well as in East Otago, Waitaki, and Canterbury in New Zealand due to the outbreak of AI H7N6 strain among domestic birds.
As of Feb. 7, the Bureau of Animal Industry has no reported cases of highly pathogenic AI in the country. (PNA)