Fifteen countries restrict Hungary poultry imports over bird flu

Budapest, November 30 (MTI) – Fifteen countries have introduced restrictions on the trade of live poultry and poultry products from Hungary due to a recent outbreak of the H5N8 bird flu virus in the country.

According to information published on the website of food safety authority Nebih, Japan has banned the export of poultry products made in Hungary after Oct. 23. Israel, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Jordan have banned all poultry exports from Hungary, while Mexico has imposed a ban on products from Békés county, in southeastern Hungary, where the virus was first detected.

Other countries have introduced similar restrictions based on the geographical location of the epidemic or the date of the outbreak.

So far, four Hungarian counties have been affected by the epidemic in central and south-eastern parts of the country. Further outbreaks have been reported from Germany, Romania, Netherlands, and Japan.

On Nov. 21, Nebih ordered all poultry in the near vicinity of bird flu outbreaks in Bugac and Kiskunmajsa, in south-eastern Hungary, to be culled.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned that the risk of infection from the H5N8 strain of the bird flu virus could last until next spring.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Laurent Gillieron

Source: MTI