BAI bans birds, poultry products from South Africa

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has temporarily restricted the entry of wild and domestic birds and poultry meat and eggs from South Africa. The bureau said Wednesday it issued Memorandum Order No. 9 on April 14, after the presence of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (serotype H5N2) was detected and confirmed by the Office International des Epizooties in a farm in Oudtshorn, Western Cape province in South Africa All quarantine officers and inspectors at all major ports were tasked to confiscate all shipments of South African poultry and poultry products. This temporary ban on poultry products from countries with confirmed cases of the avian influenza virus is issued to protect the country’s own poultry industry and safeguard the health of Filipinos. By the World Health Organization’s account, the virus has already killed more than 200 people since the H5N1 strain broke out in Southeast Asia in 2003. The virus has also crippled the poultry industries of Indonesia and Thailand. The Philippines is one of the few countries in Asia that remains free of the dreaded bird flu virus. — AY/VS, GMA News