Source:Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 12/29/16

Officials in several regions of China have banned poultry imports from areas dealing with confirmed outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The Center for Food Safety (CFS) in Hong Kong has banned the import of poultry or poultry products originating from an area in Xinjiang where the H5N6 strain of HPAI was confirmed in recent weeks. The protective measure will be in force for 90 days, according to a news release issued by the agency. CFS also has banned poultry imports from Japan and Poland, where H5N8 separately has been confirmed in the last seven weeks.

Hong Kong imported about 6,000 metric tons of frozen poultry meat and 40.6 million poultry eggs from Japan and about 16,400 metric tons of frozen poultry and 4.8 million eggs in Poland in the last 10 months, CFS added.

Meanwhile, the Chinese city of Wuxi is temporarily suspending live poultry from an area near Shanghai after reports of the H7N9 strain of HPAI were confirmed in the last two months. Wuxi is near a lake that is often used as a stop for migratory birds, which are suspected of spreading bird flu as they move further north, according to a report from Reuters. At least seven humans from mainland China have been infected in the most recent outbreaks and two have died from the being exposed from H7N9, the report added.

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