Saturday, April 29, 2006
Japan suspends UK poultry imports over bird flu
Japan has suspended poultry imports from Britain to prevent the spread of bird flu to domestic fowl, Japan’s Agriculture Ministry said on Saturday.
The announcement came after an outbreak of a less-virulent strain of the bird flu virus, the H7N3, was found at a poultry farm in eastern England.
“In order to do the utmost to prevent the disease from entering our country, the imports of poultry as well as poultry meat...from Britain has been temporarily suspended effective today,” the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it had been informed of the outbreak by British authorities and was seeking detailed information.
A farm worker in Norfolk contracted an eye infection caused by the virus, but the Health Protection Agency said H7N3 did not transmit easily from poultry to person or from person to person and the chance of it spreading was low.