Saudi bans poultry imports from Tennessee, Malaysia over bird flu fears

Saudi Arabia has temporarily banned the import of poultry from the US state of Tennessee and Malaysia over concerns of bird flu.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture had announced a “temporary ban on the import of live birds, hatching eggs and chicks from the US state of Tennessee, based on a warning issued by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in the US”.

Earlier this month, US officials confirmed that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) involving an H7 strain had been detected on two commercial poultry farms in Tennessee after hundreds of birds died.

The outbreak began on March 1.

Meanwhile the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture also announced a temporary ban on the import of live birds, hatching eggs and chicks from Malaysia, the SPA reported.

The ban is “based on a warning issued by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on the breaking out of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Malaysia,” it said.

Earlier this month, Malaysian authorities issued an alert after the H5N1 bird flu virus was found in farms in the state of Kelantan.

Following the outbreak, China also imposed a temporary ban on imports of bird’s nest from Malaysia.