MANILA, April 7 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday announced the temporary ban of domestic and wild birds, and their by-products from Belgium due to the spread of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or bird flu.

This came after Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. issued Memorandum Order No. 20, which aims to prevent a similar outbreak in the country.

"(There's) a need to safeguard the local poultry industry from the HPAI virus," Tiu Laurel said in a statement.

Other by-products covered are poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen.

Under the order, the processing and evaluation of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSIC) for these products from the European country is temporarily su...