The Philippine government imposed a temporary ban on the import of domestic and wild birds and poultry meat, day-old chicks and eggs from Burgas, Bulgaria.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) made the decision after Bulgaria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food reported to the Office Internationale Des Epizooties (OIE) an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Konstantinovo, Burgas.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the H5 and H7 HPAI viruses are among the notifiable OIE-listed terrestrial animal diseases, infections and infestations in force in 2015.
“[The ban is being imposed] to prevent the entry of HPAI virus to protect the health of the public and the local poultry population,” said Alcala in Memorandum Order 5, series of 2015, he issued on February 10.
With the ban in place, the Philippine government has suspended the processing, evaluation of the application, and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance of domestic and wild birds and poultry products from Bulgaria.
The ban does not cover heat-treated products.
The DA warned that it will confiscate all shipments of the banned commodities originating from Burgas, Bulgaria.
Outbreaks of HPAI are usually seen in European and North American countries during the winter season, as the virus survives well in cold climates, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Currently, the Philippines is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that remains free from the dreaded avian influenza virus. The virus, which resurfaced in Asia in 2003, crippled poultry industries in neighboring countries, such as Vietnam.
Earlier, the DA said being an archipelago is proving to be an advantage to the Philippines in terms of controlling livestock diseases, as contagion is more likely in countries with a single land mass.