February 20, 2004

HK Bans Poultry Products From Canada BC After Bird Flu Case

Hong Kong temporarily halted poultry meat imports from British Columbia on Friday after bird flu was detected in the Canadian province.

The ban - which affects about 1% of Hong Kong's poultry imports - will stay in place while officials obtain more information from Canadian authorities, the government said in a statement.

The H7 bird flu virus found on a British Columbia farm has been contained, Canadian Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew said Thursday.

The strain that surfaced in Canada is less dangerous than the H5N1 flu, which has ravaged chicken farms across Asia and crossed over to claim 22 human lives in Thailand and Vietnam.

Hong Kong hasn't been hit, but it remains on guard after a 1997 epidemic crossed over to humans, killing six and prompting officials to cull 1.4 million chickens.

Hong Kong has halted imports of all live birds and temporarily banned poultry meat imports from countries and territories where bird flu has surfaced.