Egypt bans foreign poultry
2007-07-10 14:16
Cairo - Egypt on Tuesday banned all poultry imports from France and Germany after the potentially fatal H5N1 strain of bird flu was discovered in birds there.
Cairo airport's veterinary authority said: "The import of birds and poultry of any age from Germany and France is banned from Tuesday."
Egypt, the country hardest hit by bird flu outside Asia, took the step after positive H5N1 test results last week on three swans in France and 38 birds in Germany.
French and German officials had ordered fresh measures to ensure that chickens and other poultry did not come into contact with wild birds and that they underwent monthly veterinary checks.
It was not immediately known what volume of trade would be affected by the Egyptian ban. On Monday, Japan banned imports of German poultry for at least 90 days because of the bird flu scare.
Fifteen people had died from bird flu in Egypt, where its spread was helped by the country's location on major bird migration routes and the widespread practice of keeping domestic fowl near living quarters.
A total of 191 people worldwide had died of bird flu, said the World Health Organisation, which reported 317 cases overall in its June 29 tally.
Scientists were worried that the H5N1 bird flu virus could mutate into a form easily spread among humans, leading to a global pandemic.