January 23, 2024

Thailand bans poultry imports from Belgium and French provinces due to HPAI

Thailand has suspended poultry imports from Belgium and three provinces in France in a bid to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The announcement by the country's Department of Livestock Development, published in the Royal Gazette on January 18, will be in effect for nine days. It noted that the disease could spread widely due to the transport of sick poultry or their carcasses, adding that it could affect Thailand's poultry farming and people's health.

The move follows a World Organisation for Animal Health report on the spread of HPAI in both countries.

Department director-general Somchuan Ratanamungklanon has suspended the import of poultry, such as birds, chicken, ducks, geese and swans, as well as their semen, eggs and carcasses from Belgium and France's three provinces, namely, Morbihan, Nord and Somme.

- The Nation