March 7, 2012

Following Taiwan's announcement last week of an outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza (AI), South Korea on Tuesday (Mar 6) banned imports of all poultry products from Taiwan, including live birds.

The import ban prohibits inbound shipments of any poultry products from Taiwan that have been produced since December 7 as Taipei said its first confirmed case dates back to December 27, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The H5N2 strain of AI reported in Taiwan is known to have a maximum incubation period of 21 days, the ministry said.

"In addition, we are advising all local farmers to avoid visiting Taiwan and any poultry farms there to help prevent an inflow of AI virus to the country," the ministry said in a released statement.

Though lethal to birds, the H5N2 virus is not contagious to humans, it added.