Brussels, 03/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 3 April, the countries of the EU, meeting within the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, supported a proposal to lift restrictions on imports of fresh poultry meat (and poultry-based products) from Thailand as of 1 July 2012, due to the eradication of bird flu in the country. In early 2004, the European Commission adopted protection measures to suspend imports to the EU of Thai poultry meat, after several outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N1 subtype (HPAI H5N1) in that country.
In response to the protection measures taken by the EU, Thailand implemented a rigorous policy to stamp out the pathogen, including intensive surveillance and quick elimination of infected animals. As a result, it has successfully eradicated this highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza H5N1 from its territory.
The H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) academic started in South East Asia in mid-2003 and the virus spread in the following years to three continents, including Europe, affecting overall more than 60 countries. The Commission adopted several protection measures to prohibit imports of poultry from countries hit by bird flu, including Thailand, to avoid any risk of introducing the virus to poultry farms in the EU, and any risk to human health. Commission experts carried out several inspection missions to Thailand during this period, to evaluate the measures which had been put in place to eradicate the virus. The results of the last of these missions (in March 2011) showed that Thailand is able to comply with EU requirements regarding imports of poultry meat. (LC/transl.fl)