Following official reports from the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) confirming outbreaks of the avian flu, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned the importation of on the entry of birds, poultry and their products from British Columbia and Belgium.
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.
It would be recalled that the Philippines, along with Brunei and Singapore, are the only Avian Influenza-free countries in Southeast Asia.
While the H5N1 virus remains hard for humans to catch, at least 254 worldwide have died from it since 2003. (PIA)