Hong Kong bans poultry from Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan province

Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety (CFS) has notified government officials in Vietnam that it has imposed a ban on poultry products from the Ninh Thuan province of Vietnam. The ban was put in place over concerns about the potential spread of avian influenza.
The ban on poultry products from Ninh Thuan was issued after highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was detected in the Vietnamese province. In that outbreak, the virus was found in 220 birds, and 20 of those birds died. A total of 1,000 birds were susceptible, and all birds in the flock have been euthanized. The Vietnamese outbreak was reported by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on August 29.
Included in Hong Kong’s ban were poultry meat products and eggs. The ban was put in place immediately, according to a report from Food Business Review.
While Hong Kong has issued a ban on poultry and eggs from Ninh Thuan, it remains to keep in place similar bans on poultry meat imports from Vietnam’s Tra Vinh, Dak Nong and Lao Cai provinces.
On its website, OIE stated that it will post weekly updates on the H5N1 avian influenza situation in Ninh Thuan until it is resolved.