February 11, 2004
Indonesia Bans US Poultry Imports On Bird Flu
Indonesia said Wednesday it will join a growing list of countries that have banned poultry imports from the U.S., which has been hit by a mild outbreak of bird flu.
The Ministry of Agriculture said it expects to put the ban into effect once a decree on the matter is signed in the coming days. Chicken imports from the U.S. are small, with most going to international hotels and restaurants.
"A decree on the ban has already been prepared," said Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, director of animal health at the agriculture ministry.
In the U.S. state of Delaware, agriculture officials confirmed Tuesday night that a second poultry farm had been hit by bird flu. However, the disease is not the H5N1 strain found in most of the affected Asian countries.
Foreign countries have slapped bans on imports of U.S. poultry in the past week.
Overnight, Brazil joined the growing list of countries that have halted U.S. poultry imports. China announced a ban Tuesday, joining Poland, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. A ban by Russia, America's largest poultry export market, affects only imports from Delaware.
Meanwhile, Indonesia also said it would temporarily suspend the import of a vaccine to treat bird flu. The virus has already killed 5 million chickens and devastated the country's poultry industry.
After defending the vaccine import Tuesday, government officials backtracked Wednesday and said they needed to ensure it was safe. They had argued Tuesday that the vaccine was necessary to make up for a shortage of locally made vaccines.
"Today, Indonesia has temporarily halted the import of a vaccine from China," Naipospos said. "We're awaiting results of government tests on the vaccine to determine if it's safe. It should take a month to complete the tests."
The World Health Organization and international animal health agencies have encouraged infected countries to combat the virus by culling infected flocks and implementing a targeted vaccination program.
