DA bans poultry products from US due to avian influenza

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products from Oregon, US after highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was monitored in backyard country flock.

Poultry products from Oregon including poultry meat, day old chicks, eggs and semen will not be allowed to enter the country.

With the exception of heat-treated products, all such shipments will be confiscated by DA quarantine officers upon arrival.

The processing of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) import clearance for these products were also suspended.

The department announced, in a statement, that the presence of HPAI H5N8 strain was confirmed in a Douglas County backyard bird flock near Winston on Dec. 19, 2014.

This is the same virus strain found in a captive gyrfalcon in Whatcom County, Washington. Avian influenza naturally resides in wild birds and it is fairly common for waterfowl to carry various strains of the virus.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, HPAI outbreaks in North American are common because the virus thrives in cold climatic conditions.

The Philippines remains free from avian influenza that has affected the poultry industries of neighboring Asian countries since 2003.

The Philippines, being an archipelago, easily curbs the spread of bird and livestock diseases compared to landlocked countries that experience massive outbreaks.