Avian Influenza (AI) or bird flu virus outbreak in Germany and France

[link to hisz.rsoe.hu]


The Philippine government on Saturday ordered the temporary ban of bird and poultry imports, including its manufactured goods, from France and Germany due to confirmed outbreaks of the Avian Influenza (AI) or bird flu virus in these two European countries. The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the temporary ban on the entry of birds, poultry and their products will help keep the country free of the dreaded virus, especially that official reports from the World Health Organization on Animal Health (Office International des Epizooties or OIE) confirmed outbreaks of the virus in Germany and France. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap signed Memorandum Order No. 31 imposing the temporary ban on bird and poultry imports from Saint Aubin Du Plain, France while DA Undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla signed MO 32 to ban the entry of similar imports from Germany. The directives cited that the ban and other emergency measures were necessary to protect human health and the poultry industry in the Philippines, which has remained free of bird flu ever since the H5N1 strain of this virus struck back in Asia six years ago. Influenza A viruses occur among domestic poultry such as chickens and turkeys, including people. H5N1 strain has become common among birds in Asia, shedding the virus in their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. Reports said that more than 90 percent of birds who get H5N1 die, and mortality among humans is also high. The virus can manifest life-threatening complications to humans, like pneumonia and acute respiratory distress. DA said the Philippines along with Brunei and Singapore are the only AI-free countries in Southeast Asia.

The department’s quarantine officers and inspectors at all major airports and seaports were particularly ordered to stop and confiscate all shipments of live birds, poultry and poultry products into the country originating from Germany, and France. It also ordered the immediate suspension of the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of Veterinary Import Clearances (VQCs) to all imports covering these products from the banned areas. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported, as of mid-December, 445 laboratory-confirmed cases of the bird flu and 263 fatalities from the disease since the H5N1 strain of the virus broke out in Southeast Asia in 2003 and then spread across the rest of the continent, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In other Asian countries like Indonesia, 115 deaths have been recorded so far, while 25 fatalities from the AI virus were reported in China, 17; in Thailand; and 57 in Vietnam, WHO said. The DA has set up Community-Based Early Warning Systems (CBEWS) in selected barangays identified as in high risk of contracting the AI virus as part of its continuing measures to keep the Philippines free of this animal disease. These CBEWs were established to orient Barangay AI Task Forces on the bird flu and the reporting process for AI suspects (both in poultry and humans) as well as the possible smuggling of poultry and exotic birds in their localities. The government currently has four avian flu testing facilities located in Zamboanga City, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, and San Fernando in Pampanga. The laboratories in Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, and Cebu complement the ongoing work being done at the Regional Avian Influenza Diagnostic Laboratory (RAIDL), in San Fernando, Pampanga, which is the country’s first diagnostic facility meant to promptly detect the AI virus.