ARMENIA BANS POULTRY IMPORTS AMID BIRD FLU FEARS
RIA Novosti, Russia
Feb 5 2007
YEREVAN, February 5 (RIA Novosti) – Armenia has imposed a temporary
ban on poultry imports from a number of countries out of concern over
the spread of the bird flu virus, the head of the state veterinary
inspection said Monday.
"We cannot rule out the possibility of the bird flu virus spreading
to Armenia," Grigor Bagyan said.
He said imports of poultry products have been banned from Azerbaijan,
Hungary, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand,
Sri Lanka, Egypt and Nigeria.
Bagyan said all the necessary preventive measures have been reinforced,
especially at border checkpoints.
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has claimed dozens of human lives
since it first appeared in Asia in 2003. It has since spread worldwide,
and scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form transmissible
between humans, sparking a global pandemic.