Poultry imports suspended over avian flu fears

Several countries have banned imports of selected poultry products from regions of Chile and Vietnam where cases of avian influenza have been reported in recent weeks, while India has declared the country’s wild bird population free of the disease.

Photo courtesy of the Iowa Turkey Federation
Photo courtesy of the Iowa Turkey Federation

Several countries have banned imports of selected poultry products from regions of Chile and Vietnam where cases of avian influenza have been reported in recent weeks, while India has declared the country’s wild bird population free of the disease.

Following official confirmation of the detection of a low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) virus of the H7 subgroup in a flock of commercial turkeys at the end of August, some countries have imposed a ban on imports of turkey products from Chile. These include Argentina, Peru, and Hong Kong, reports Buenos Aires Times.

The affected flock in the Los Nogales area of Valparaiso belongs to the company Sopraval, according to the same source.

Having carried out surveillance of all poultry within 2 kilometers of the affected farm, Chile’s agricultural and livestock service, SAG reports no virus-positive samples among more than 1.5 million birds tested. There were no other commercial poultry farms in the area.

SAG is investigating the most likely cause of the LPAI infection, and stresses that it poses no threat to human health. According to the service, the suspension of imports by the three states only applies to poultry products from the province of Quillota.

Hong Kong suspends poultry imports from Vietnamese province

The food safety agency in China’s Special Administrative Area has announced the suspension of imports of poultry products from the Vietnamese province of Ben Tre, reports Xinhua.

The move follows the recent official confirmation by Vietnam’s agriculture ministry of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the southern province to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The H5N6 HPAI virus subtype was detected in a village flock of around 1,000 birds in mid-August. This was the first confirmed outbreak of the disease linked to this virus variant in Ben Tre, and the third in Vietnam since June of this year.

India, U.S. report avian flu situation 'resolved'

Earlier this year, the H5N1 HPAI virus was detected in wild birds at 13 locations in the eastern Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha (Orissa). With the last detection of the virus in mid-February, India’s agriculture ministry has declared to the OIE that the disease situation in wild birds has been resolved.

Also in the last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported to the OIE that a previous outbreak of LPAI in California has been resolved. Routine surveillance in April this year had revealed an LPAI virus of the H5N2 subtype in a commercial flock of goose and duck breeders in Monterey County.

View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.

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