RP to ban chicken imports from Texas

The Philippines plans to ban imports of chicken and poultry products from Texas following an outbreak of bird flu in the US state, an agriculture official said yesterday.

Jose Molina, director of the Bureau of Animal Industry, which regulates agricultural imports, said he recommended the ban to Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr.

"It’s a precautionary measure," Molina said.

It was unclear when Lorenzo will approve the ban.

Meanwhile, the government will stop processing applications for imports of poultry and game fowl from Texas, even though the US state is not a major source of poultry from the Philippines, Molina said.

The government earlier banned poultry from Pennsylvania and Delaware, two other US states that have had bird flu outbreaks. None of the other US states have reported the strain that has killed 22 people in Asia.

Molina said the United States is a major supplier of dressed chicken, along with Canada, Australia and Bahrain.

The Philippines is still free of bird flu.

The strain of avian flu found on a Texas chicken farm is far deadlier to poultry than originally thought and has spread to live bird markets in Houston, US officials said Monday. But it is not the same strain that has killed people in Asia and is not considered a threat to humans, said Dr. Ron DeHaven of the US Department of Agriculture.

In a related development, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) advised all workers and commercial establishments, particularly those dealing with birds and chickens, to take appropriate precautionary measures against bird flu.

Dr. Dulce Estrella Gust, chief of DOLE’s Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), said precautionary measures are standard procedures that poultry workers should be doing even without the threat of an epidemic.

The spread of bird flu "is actually a wake-up call for all workers in poultry farms that the key to prevent work-related illness is to observe safety and health measures," she said.

Gust added that the World Health Organization has advised poultry workers worldwide to use protective equipment and observe cleanliness to prevent the spread of the bird flu virus.

"We are lucky that the virus has not affected our country but we must still be vigilant in advocating safety and health among workers nationwide, particularly those employed in the poultry industry," she said.

Gust noted that the OSHC is now collaborating with the animal, agricultural and human health sectors in the implementation of precautionary measures against bird flu.

The OSHC is also set to undertake an information campaign among high-risk workers, she said. — AP, Mayen Jaymalin