Poultry from two bird flu-hit US states banned

The Department of Agriculture (DA) temporarily barred the entry of poultry imports from two states in the United States after these areas recorded outbreaks of bird flu.

In a memorandum order, the DA said it would immediately suspend the processing, evaluation of applications and issuance of the required sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for poultry originating from Minnesota and South Dakota.

The temporary importation ban covers domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen.

“All shipments coming from the mentioned areas of the [US] that are in transit/loaded/accepted unto port before the official communication of this order to the American authorities shall be allowed provided the products were slaughtered/produced 14 days before the first outbreak in the particular locality,” it said.

The agency was forced to ban the importation of poultry from both states as US authorities informed the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspect Service (APHIS) of several outbreaks of avian influenza in Minnesota and South Dakota affecting domestic birds.

“The rapid spread of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the [US] in a short period of time since its first laboratory detection necessitates a wider coverage of trade restriction to prevent the entry of HPAI virus and protect the health of the local poultry population,” it added.

Earlier lifting

The issuance comes after the DA lifted the temporary ban on the importation of poultry products from Minnesota and South Dakota in June and September this year, respectively.

Prior to the import ban, both Minnesota and South Dakota were declared bird-flu free at that time and the DA had said the risk of contamination from importing these commodities was negligible.

American and Philippine veterinary authorities reached an agreement in 2016 stating a state-wide ban can only be imposed if there are three or more counties affected with avian influenza in one state.

The US is one of the leading sources of imported meat in the Philippines. In the first 10 months of this year, it exported 179.6 million kilograms of meat, mostly chicken, based on the data from the Bureau of Animal Industry.

The volume is equivalent to 17.6 percent of the 1.02 billion kg of meat imports that arrived in the country during the period. —Jordeene B. Lagare