Saudi, Polish, Benin poultry products banned
By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:48:00 01/12/2008
Filed Under: Food
MANILA, Philippines -- The Department of Agriculture has imposed a temporary ban on all imports of birds and poultry products from Saudi Arabia, Poland and Benin, after animal health authorities confirmed the presence of the bird flu virus in those countries.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the ban covered all imports of domestic and wild birds, along with poultry and poultry products, including day-old chicks, eggs and semen.
Animal health officials from Saudi Arabia, Benin and Poland separately submitted their official reports on the outbreak of bird flu in their respective countries to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) in November and December.
According to the reports, the presence of the dreaded avian influenza virus had been detected in the farms of Ar-Kharj, Al-Muzahmiyah and Dhuma in Ar-Riyad in Saudi Arabia; in the villages of Mysliborzyce and Uniejow in Poland; and in the Honvié of Benin in West Africa.
Yap said the temporary ban was necessary to protect human health and the P60-billion poultry industry in the Philippines.
The Philippines is one of only three countries in Southeast Asia that have remained free of the avian flu since the H5N1 strain of the virus resurfaced in 2003. The others are Brunei and Singapore.
Yap said he had ordered immediate suspension of issuance of Veterinary Quarantine Clearances (VQCs) to all imports covering the products from Benin, Poland and Saudi Arabia, and directed quarantine officers and inspectors of the Department of Agriculture at all major airports and seaports to stop and confiscate all shipments of live birds, poultry and poultry products from those countries.
Recently, Yap ordered the Bureau of Animal Industry to step up border patrols, quarantine measures and other preventive steps to keep the Philippines AI-free amid the resurgence of the bird flu virus in Indonesia, Myanmar and Pakistan.
The bureau has been carrying out strict monitoring and control measures to prevent domestic poultry and ducks from coming into contact with migratory birds from the 20 critical areas identified under the Avian Influenza Prevention Program.
This week, the World Health Organization reported that 216 out of 348 people found to have been infected with the AI virus had died since 2003.
This cumulative number represents a 62 percent human mortality rate for this virus. Edited by INQUIRER.net
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