THE Philippines has imposed a temporary ban on poultry meat and eggs from California following the confirmation of an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) there.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) slapped the temporary ban a month after it disallowed the entry of poultry products from Oregon. Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala signed Memorandum Order 7, series of 2015, which authorized the implementation of the ban.
Alcala issued the order after the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) notified the Office International des Epizooties of an outbreak of HPAI in Stanislaus County, California.
The APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed the outbreak of HPAI serotype H5N8 in commercial turkey farms in the county.
With the ban in place, the Philippine government would no longer allow the entry of domestic and wild birds, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and poultry semen from California. The ban does not cover heat-treated products with slaughter/production date before October 31, 2014.
Manila usually imposes a temporary ban on poultry products from areas where there are HPAI outbreaks as a preventive measure.
The Philippines is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that remains free from the dreaded avian influenza virus, which has crippled the poultry industry of Vietnam and Thailand.
Alcala said the Philippine government cannot afford to be complacent considering the importance of the local poultry sector. Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the domestic poultry subsector grossed P189.7 billion last year, or 7.84 percent higher than in 2013.
The US is a major source of poultry products, such as chicken leg quarters, for the Philippines. The DA, however, did not provide the volume of poultry meat the country buys from California.
During winter, the Food and Agriculture Organization said HPAI outbreaks are a common occurrence in North American countries, such as the US, because the virus thrives in cold climatic conditions.
The DA said the Philippines, being an archipelago, has an edge when it comes to curbing the spread of livestock diseases. This is because the disease is easier to contain in an island.