PH bans entry of domestic, wild birds from Southern California
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) imposed a ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds from Southern California, following confirmed reports of a fatal viral disease affecting birds and poultry.
In its Memorandum Order 20 issued on July 9, 2018, the DA cited a report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), saying that the cities of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside were positive for the Virulent Newcastle Disease (vND), a contagious and fatal viral disease affecting the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems of birds and poultry.
VND, formerly known as Exotic Newcastle Disease, is a disease characterized by USDA as “so virulent” that many birds and poultry die without showing any clinical signs.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the ban included poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen.
With the ban in place, the DA suspended the processing and evaluation of applications for and the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances covering the affected commodities.
The DA chief also stressed that veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors in all major Philippine ports must stop and confiscate all inbound shipments of the banned items, except heat-treated products.
Meanwhile, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and USDA reminded bird owners about the need for biosecurity to help protect their birds from VND and other infectious diseases. These include simple steps like washing hands and scrubbing boots before and after entering a poultry area; cleaning and disinfecting tires and equipment before moving them off the property; and isolating any birds returning from shows for 30 days before placing them with the rest of the flock.
In March this year, the DA also banned the importation of domestic and wild birds from the Netherlands because of an outbreak of bird flu in two of its cities. The Netherlands was hit by H5N6, a highly pathogenic bird flu strain, which also affected poultry farms in the provinces of Pampanga and Nueva Ecija in August 2017.
Section 1770 of Act No. 2711 (Revised Administrative Code of 1917) empowers the department head to issue a general order preventing the entry of animals, animal effects, parts of products from any country with dangerous communicable animal disease to protect the health of the local poultry population. EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ
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