Health and Human Services Department, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
On January 21, 2009, CDC published a notice in the Federal Register (74 FR 3608) announcing its intent to rescind its February 4, 2004 order and subsequent amendments prohibiting the importation of birds and bird products from specified countries based on the threat that imports from such countries increases the risk that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) may be introduced into the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has implemented and continues to enforce regulations to prohibit or restrict the importation of birds, poultry, and unprocessed birds and poultry products from regions that have reported the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in poultry. While USDA/APHIS actions are based primarily on protecting the U.S. commercial poultry industry from the introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, these actions have the added benefit of mitigating the risk of human exposure to the virus. Because the USDA/APHIS import restrictions adequately address risks to human health, HHS/CDC is announcing, in this Notice, its decision to lift its embargo against imports of birds and unprocessed bird products from those same countries. All of the bird embargoes that are currently in force under USDA regulations remain in effect. HHS/CDC will work closely with USDA/APHIS to monitor the international situation regarding HPAI H5N1 outbreaks and if human health risks are not adequately contained by USDA regulatory actions, CDC will take action to mitigate any human health risks associated with these outbreaks.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Final Notice. SUMMARY: On January 21, 2009, CDC published a notice in the Federal Register ( 74 FR 3608 ) announcing its intent to rescind its February 4, 2004 order and subsequent amendments prohibiting the importation of birds and bird products from specified countries based on the threat that imports from such countries increases the risk that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) may be introduced into the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has implemented and continues to enforce regulations to prohibit or restrict the importation of birds, poultry, and unprocessed birds and poultry products from regions that have reported the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in poultry. While USDA/APHIS actions are based primarily on protecting the U.S. commercial poultry industry from the introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, these actions have the added benefit of mitigating the risk of human exposure to the virus. Because the USDA/APHIS import restrictions adequately address risks to human health, HHS/CDC is announcing, in this Notice, its decision to lift its embargo against imports of birds and unprocessed bird products from those same countries. All of the bird embargoes that ar…
Citation: 74 FR 40824
