Poultry imports banned to stop bird flu spread

Authorities banned yesterday poultry imports from all Asian countries to stop the spread of avian influenza from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Bureau of Animal Industry chief Jose Molina issued a memorandum banning imports of all "live poultry and any product of poultry origin" originating from Asia, Davinio Catbagan, veterinary quarantine chief at Manila airport, told AFP.

The bureau also said "travellers to any Asian country are discouraged from visiting any poultry or bird farm to avoid bringing the H5N1 virus to the Philippines."

Earlier yesterday, Thai Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan confirmed the country’s first human cases of bird flu in two boys from provinces west of the capital, Bangkok. He said three more people are being tested.

The virus has already killed at least five people in Vietnam, and the epidemic spread through South Korean farms late last year.

Japan also suffered its first bird flu outbreak in 79 years, resulting in the deaths or slaughter of tens of thousands of chickens.

Catbagan said the Philippines does not import poultry products from any Asian country.

It imports chicken meat from the United States and Canada, as well as day-old breeder chicks from France, Germany, and the Netherlands, he added. — AFP