THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted its temporary ban on poultry and other bird product imports from Indiana after United States veterinary authorities declared the state free of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or bird flu.
HPAI is a contagious viral disease that affects wild and domestic birds, causing severe illness and high mortality among poultry. Human infections are rare, but contact with infected animals may pose a public health risk. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. signed Department Circular 48 on Sept. 17, allowing the resumption of imports of domestic and wild birds, poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from Indiana. The order takes effect on Oct. 10, or 15 days after its publication on the DA website and filing with the Office of the National Administrative Register at the University of the Philippines Law Center. The decision followed official reports submitted by US veterinary authorities to the World Organization for Animal Health confirming that the previously reported HPAI outbreaks in the state had been resolved and that no new cases had been detected. The circular repealed the restrictions imposed under Department Circular 10, Series of 2026, which banned poultry imports from Indiana on March 3. The earlier ban followed reports from US veterinary authorities on Feb. 23 of several HPAI outbreaks among domestic birds in the state. The infections were confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. The DA said the US has an HPAI regionalization agreement with the Philippines. Under this arrangement, imports may continue from unaffected areas, while statewide restrictions are imposed only when outbreaks are recorded in at least three counties.