. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/981 
12 November 2009 
 (09-5633) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
HEALTH STATUS, TRANSPARENCY AND TRADE REACTIONS 
 
Statement Delivered by Chile at the Meeting Held on  
28 and 29 October 2009  
 
  The following communication, received on 28 Octo ber 2009, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of Chile
. 
 
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 1. In August 2009, pandemic human influenza w as detected on two turkey breeding farms 
owned by the same company in the municipalities of Quilpué and Nogales. 
2. The outbreak corresponded to the pandemic infl uenza A (H1N1) virus and was duly reported 
to the OIE on 21 August.  The presence of the viru s was subsequently confirmed by the national 
reference laboratory of the Chilean Public Health Institute and by the OIE international reference 
laboratory for avian influenza in Ames, Iowa (United States). 
3. It should be noted that the outbreak in question is not a disease notifiable to the OIE.  Chile 
reported the outbreak, but was under no obligation to do so .  This proved to be of much interest to the 
scientific community, which, together with Ch ile's trading partners, praised the country's 
transparency - a principle Chile considers invaluable. 
4. The outbreak affected only two turkey breeding fa rms, both owned by the same company.  It 
should be noted that the non-breeder turkeys farmed  by the company, including those for commercial 
fattening, were free of the disease. 
5. The detected virus was a human virus that had been transmitted to the turkeys.  In these 
circumstances, it is safe to say that the likelihood of  viral dissemination is negligible and that there are 
no risks involved in trading fresh poultry meat and poultry by-products, partly for the following 
reasons: 
• The virus was only detected in breeder birds; 
• there was no evidence of virus circulation in fattening birds; 
• there was no scientific evidence of viral transmission through meat;  and 
• only clinically healthy and serologically nega tive birds have been sent for slaughter. 
6. All available background details were provided with a view to establishing the significance of 
the event in question.  No known health risks are involved in the marketing of poultry and G/SPS/GEN/981 
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  poultry products from healthy birds;  such birds are subject to a monitoring and inspection system, 
including relevant control, cont ainment and surveillance measures. 
7. In short, Chilean exports of poultry and poultry products do not pose any form of risk.  Were 
this not the case, Chile's relevant health author ity, the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), 
would be the first to stop any exports which were su spected of constituting a risk to public or animal 
health or which might compromise the trust of Chile's export markets. 
8. Unfortunately, a number of countries have errone ously introduced trade-restricting measures 
when there are no scientific grounds to do so, on the basis of partial information and without any 
further investigation into the matter.  One of th ese countries went so far as to notify measures based 
on the presence of avian influenza, despite the fact  that Chile is free of this disease, a status 
recognized and approved unanimously by the 172 members of the OIE. 
9. The measures notified to the WTO could have ha rmed Chile's image in third countries.  The 
preventive measures adopted by two other countries, without notifying the WTO, caused temporary injury by disrupting trade. 
10. WTO Members are therefore urged to study the background details before issuing or applying 
measures in situations such as the one described.  Certain measures can, if taken hurriedly and without 
any scientific basis, result in significant trade losses.  The adoption of measures not based on 
scientific evidence also implies disregard for the serious work carried out by scientific reference 
organizations in the light of the SPS Agreement. 
11. Amongst other SPS Agreement Articles, we call upon the Members to comply with 
Article 2.3, which states that "sanitary and phyto sanitary measures shall not be applied in a manner 
which would constitute a disguised restriction on in ternational trade", and Article 2.2, under which 
"Members shall ensure that any sanitary or phytosanit ary measure [...] is based on scientific principles 
and is not maintained without sufficient scientific evidence". 
 
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