August 19, 2004

Singapore Suspends All Poultry Imports From Malaysia Following Bird Flu Outbreak

Singapore suspended imports of all poultry and poultry products from Malaysia with immediate effect Wednesday after the bird flu virus was detected at a Malaysian farm.

Malaysia's Department of Veterinary Services has confirmed that the H5 strain of avian influenza had been detected at a poultry farm in Kelantan near the Thai-Malaysian border, Singapore's Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority said.

"To prevent the incursion of bird flu into Singapore, AVA has suspended the import of all poultry and poultry products from Malaysia with immediate effect," the authority said in a statement.

In recent weeks, fresh outbreaks of bird flu have been reported in Vietnam, China and Thailand. The disease affects mostly poultry although there have been cases of human deaths.