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Friday, June 4, 2010

Philippines: DA bans bird, poultry imports from Lombardy, Italy

From ABS-CBN News :

" MANILA, Philippines : The Department of Agriculture on Thursday has imposed a temporary import ban on birds and poultry, including their products, from the city of Bergamo in Lombardy, Italy, after the World Organization on Animal Health or Office International des Epizooties (OIE) confirmed outbreaks of the bird flu or avian influenza (AI) virus in the area.

Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla said the ban comes on the heels of a report submitted by the European Commission's Health and Consumers Directorate General to the OIE, detailing the presence of low pathogenic AI in two separate poultry holdings in Bergamo.

The DA directed its quarantine officers and inspectors at all major airports and seaports to stop and confiscate all shipments of live birds, poultry and poultry products into the country originating from Bergamo.

It also ordered the immediate suspension of the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of Veterinary Quarantine Clearances (VQCs) to all imports covering these products from the banned area.

Fondevilla said the ban on bird and poultry imports from Bergamo, along with other emergency measures, are necessary to keep the local poultry industry free from bird flu. The Philippines has managed to be free of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that struck swathes of poultry farms across Asia seven years ago."

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