Dominican Republic again asks Haiti to lift ban on poultry

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic again asked Haiti to temporarily lift the ban on Dominicans poultry products, after it has been confirmed that there’s no bird flu, said a statement released in Santo Domingo on Thursday.

The Dominican Embassy said there’s no valid argument to continue the ban on poultry products Dominicans, as it has proven that there is no bird flu in Dominican Republic, "a situation acknowledged by Haitian authorities and international organizations."

Haiti banned imports of live birds, poultry meat and eggs from Dominican Republic on June 6 claiming concerns over the entry of the virus, even when no outbreaks have been reported in the last three years.

One week later, the Haitian government acknowledged that the flu virus affecting Dominican Republic is H1N1 and not the H5N1 (bird flu), but didn’t lift the ban and instead sent a mission to Santo Domingo for talks with the Dominican officials.

"Given the information published in the media stating that the Haitian authorities have decided to lift the ban on meat products from the Dominican Republic, we should clarify that that ban had occurred prior to the ban on poultry products," said the statement released on Wednesday in Port au Prince.