DA halts bird, poultry imports from Czech Republic due to bird flu

The Department of Agriculture ordered a temporary ban on the entry of poultry products and wild birds from the Czech Republic, which declared an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8.

According to a Friday report on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, the DA's Memorandum Order 13, Series of 2020, banned the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products such as poultry meat, day old chicks, eggs, and semen from the Central European country.

The temporary importation ban was imposed following the State Veterinary of the Czech Republic reported to the World Organization for Animal Health on Jan. 20, 2020 that there was an outbreak of H5N8 bird flu in Stepanov nad Svratkou, Zdar nad Sazavou, Vysocina affecting birds.

The DA also suspended the processing and evaluation of the application and issuance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary import clearance to the banned commodities from Czech Republic.

The Agriculture Department also ordered the stoppage of all shipments of the banned products into the country by all DA Veterinary Quarantine officers and inspectors at all major ports.

Earlier, the DA has temporarily banned the entry of wild birds and other poultry products from Poland amid the H5N8 outbreak in the said country. — Ted Cordero/DVM, GMA News