Windhoek — The chief veterinary officer in the Directorate of Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Dr Milton Masheke, has announced that Namibia has resumed the importation of live poultry, birds and poultry products, and the in-transit movement of live poultry, birds and poultry products from the Netherlands.
He said the resumption of imports and in-transit movement from the Netherlands is for products produced after April 5, 2018. The resumption of imports is in response to the comprehensive report received by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry highlighting the effectiveness of the control measures mounted following the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the Netherlands in December 2017.
He assured that the depopulation of all poultry on the affected property was completed, followed by disinfection.
"Surveillance conducted in that country has not detected any evidence of infection in poultry for at least three months as required by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)," he said.
This year, HPAI outbreaks have also been confirmed in poultry in the Netherlands and Germany and in captive birds in Sweden.
Avian influenza, or "bird flu", is a highly contagious viral infection that can affect all species of birds and can manifest itself in different ways depending mainly on the ability of the virus to cause disease (pathogenicity) and in the species affected. Importers are asked to contact the veterinary import or export office for further information on the countries currently free from HPAI.
In January, Maseke also notified importers about the resumption of imports and in-transit movement of live poultry, birds and poultry products from Belgium.
The resumption of imports and in-transit movement from Belgium were for products produced after September 29 2017.
This comes after the directorate implemented stringent control measures to contain outbreaks of HPAI, also known as bird flu, in Belgium.
Some Sub-Saharan countries with potentially confirmed HPAI include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
