August 17, 2006

South Korea suspends US poultry inspections on bird flu fears

South Korea said Wednesday (Aug 16) it was halting inspections of US poultry imports as a precaution--effectively banning such products--after authorities discovered possible bird flu in two wild swans in the state of Michigan.

The Agriculture Ministry will lift the suspension if the virus is confirmed as a low-pathogenic form, said Oh Soon-min, an official of the ministry's animal health division.

However, he said Seoul would formally ban imports of US poultry if the virus turns out to be the highly pathogenic version of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

South Korea imported 26,214 tonnes of poultry, including chicken, from the United States in the first six months of 2006.

The US Agriculture Department said Monday that initial testing on the swans ruled out the most worrisome version of H5N1--but that they could have a relatively harmless, low-grade strain instead. Complete tests will take about two weeks.

The H5N1 virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003 and has killed dozens of people worldwide.