Kuwait bans poultry, eggs from Sri Lanka, Australia

Kuwait's Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources has announced that the import of all poultry, eggs and chicks from Sri Lanka is banned due to the emergence of bird flu cases in that country, according to reports. Sri Lanka health officials have said that the strain of bird flu is not the highly pathogenic H5N1, but rather H5N2, which carries no risk to humans. However, 5,000 chickens were culled after testing positive for the H5N2 virus. The Public Authority has also prohibited the importing of poultry, eggs and chicks from Australia due to reports, issued by the World Organisation for Animal Health, which indicate the emergence of the same pandemic.