April 5, 2022

Hong Kong suspends US poultry imports because of bird flu

The Hong Kong government has announced a suspension of poultry meat and products from some US states because of a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in those states, Reuters reported.

More than 22 million chicken and turkey have been killed in US commercial farms due to bird flu since the virus was first confirmed in February 2022.

Bird flu outbreaks have been confirmed in the US states of Texas, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, North Carolina, Minnesota, Nebraska, Maryland, Wisconsin, New York, Missouri, Delaware, Kentucky, and Indiana.

The most recent outbreak was confirmed in Erath County, Texas on April 3, on a commercial farm raising 1,600 pheasants. 

More than 13 million chickens and turkeys have been decimated in Iowa, the biggest egg-producing US state, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The last confirmed case in Iowa was reported on March 31.

-      Reuters