The Department of Agriculture (DA) has banned the importation of domesticated and wild birds, including poultry meat, eggs, semen, and other products, from California and Ohio, USA due to several outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said that the rapid spread of the HPAI H5N1 strain in the United States since the first laboratory detection “necessitates a wider coverage of the trade restriction to prevent the entry of HPAI virus and protect the health of the local population”.
This is the second poultry importation ban imposed by the Philippines after it prohibited the entry of Belgian poultry due to a similar incidence of HPAI outbreak.
Given the geographical land mass of the USA, the Philippines agreed to impose a state-wide ban when at least three or more counties in an affected state in the US report an HPAI outbreak.
The cases of H5N1 were reported by the US Veterinary Services to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) in November for both states of California and Ohio.
The DA also ordered the immediate suspension of the processing, evaluation of an application, and issuance of the sanitary phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) of poultry, its meat, and other products.
Laurel Tiu said that all shipments coming from California and Ohio that are already in transit, loaded or accepted at Philippine ports before the official communication of the ban on Jan. 15, 2024, shall be allowed, provided that those products were produced or the birds were slaughtered 14 days before the first outbreak.
