Agriculture officials in the Philippines established a temporary ban on the importation of chicken and poultry products from several nations and the state of California in the wake of reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cases in those areas.
The Department of Agriculture cited reports from the World Health Organization and the Japan Ministry of Agriculture for the move, first reported in The Manila Times. The order covers the importation of domestic and wild birds and related products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks and eggs, the report noted. The latest Memorandum Order 69 also bans poultry imports from Hungary and Japan in an effort to protect the domestic poultry industry.
Earlier this year, the Philippine government banned the import of birds from Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota under a Memorandum Order 69 after those U.S. states reported surges in HPAI infections among domestic flocks, the paper reported.
