February 18, 2004
 
 
Mexico Bans Poultry Imports From New Jersey

Mexico has banned poultry imports from New Jersey after bird flu was detected at a live-bird market there, Mexico's Agriculture Department said Tuesday.

The ban brings to 10 the number of U.S. states that can't export chickens or poultry products to Mexico because of bird flu concerns, the department said in a news release.

Other states on the list include Delaware, North Carolina, Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Texas, California and Connecticut.

The ban applies to live birds, eggs and any other products that can be produced from poultry parts, the statement said.

None of the virus strains found in the U.S. so far resembles the H5N1 virus that has infected humans and killed more than a dozen people in Asia.

Birds affected with avian influenza may die suddenly without clinical signs or they may show symptoms that include lethargy, soft-shelled or misshapen eggs, swelling, purple discoloration or coughing and sneezing.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey lost millions of birds during avian-flu outbreaks in the 1980s. More than 4.7 million birds in Virginia and 170,000 in Pennsylvania were destroyed after an outbreak affected several eastern states in 2001 and 2002.