December 17, 2010

China bans poultry imports from Canada's Manitoba

China has imposed a ban on poultry and poultry product imports from the province of Manitoba in Canada due to a bird flu outbreak, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said Thursday (Dec 16).

A low-pathogenic H5N2 bird flu outbreak was identified on a turkey farm in Manitoba, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

In a separate announcement, China said it had lifted a ban on poultry and poultry product imports from Greece. A ban was imposed on those products in 2005 due to a bird flu outbreak.

Greece reported to the OIE that it had eliminated bird flu, and China lifted the ban after its own risk analysis, the two government departments said in a joint statement, also issued on Thursday.