The Philippines temporarily bans imports of poultry products and birds from Japan. (Photo: cnnphilippines.com) Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines has imposed a temporary banon the importation of poultry and poultry products from Japan due to an outbreak of bird flu there, the Philippine Department of Agriculture said on January18.
The department said Philippine Agriculture Secretary FranciscoTiu Laurel signed the order on January 17 to immediately suspend the issuance ofsanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for the inward shipment of wildbirds, poultry and poultry products from Japan.
Accordingly, only wild birds, poultry, and poultry productsimported from Japan that are already in transit, loaded, and accepted on orbefore November 10, 2023, will be allowed entry to the Philippines. Shipmentsafter November 10, 2023, will either be returned to Japan, or confiscated anddestroyed.
The Japanese authorities detected an outbreak of the Highly PathogenicAvian Influenza H5N1 virus strain in Kashima City, Saga prefecture, on November24 last year. Japan reported the outbreak to the World Organization for AnimalHealth on November 28.
The Philippines has imposedsimilar bans on imports from California and Ohio in the US due to bird flu outbreaks.
Bird flu is carried by migrating wild birds and can then betransmitted between farms. It has ravaged flocks around the world in recentyears, disrupting supply and pushing up food prices./.