January 28, 2004

Singapore Bans Chinese Chickens On Bird Flu Fears

Singapore banned all poultry imports from China after the country confirmed it had found bird flu in ducks.

Chinese poultry accounts for less than 10% of Singapore's total supply of chicken and duck meat, said Goh Shih Yong, a spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore.

The city-state banned imports of live and frozen chicken from Thailand earlier this month, although it still allows imports of cooked or processed chicken meat from Thailand, Goh said.

China Tuesday became the 10th country in Asia to announce an outbreak - with the first case confirmed in Guangxi province, which borders Vietnam.

Singapore, located in the heart of Southeast Asia, is desperate to avoid the outbreak sweeping the region, and Goh said Singapore has "increased its vigilance" for signs of the disease entering the city-state.

All five of Singapore's poultry farms - with more than 2 million chickens - have been "bird-proofed," with extra netting to prevent wild fowl from entering egg-laying facilities.

More than half of Singapore's chicken comes in the form of live birds from Malaysia, which has not reported any incidence of avian influenza.

Health officials have been stationed at its two land borders with Malaysia to perform checks on incoming bird shipments.