The Philippine government lifted the ban on all poultry products imported from Germany and Japan after official reports confirmed the absence of the avian influenza virus.

Philippine Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said in a statement Tuesday that the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) have removed the two countries from the bird flu watch list and Manila now considers the poultry products imported from these two countries safe.

The Philippines is one of only three bird flu-free countries in Southeast Asia. The two others are Brunei and Singapore.

As of end-August this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 262 out of 438 people found carrying the bird flu virus have died.

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2009)