August 30, 2004

Indonesia Bans Malaysia's Chicken Imports Over Bird Flu Fears

Indonesia has banned imports of chicken from Malaysia after the neighbouring country announced an outbreak of deadly bird flu, a report said Saturday.

The agriculture ministry has issued a circular which urged firms not to import chicken meat, chicks, eggs and chicken feathers from Malaysia, according to a government official.

Malaysia announced last week that it had detected the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza in a village in Kelantan state, and beefed up security on the nearby Thai border.

Malaysian authorities say the outbreak was restricted to one village, and that the two affected birds were recently taken to Thailand for a cockfight.

Indonesia has also banned chicken imports from Thailand and Vietnam. The country launched a major vaccination program after reports that bird flu lingered in some districts last month.