The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (February 11) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N6 avian influenza in Thanh Hoa Province and Nghe An Province in Vietnam, and an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in the District of Hohenlohekreis, State of Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.
A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with Vietnam for the import of poultry eggs but not for poultry meat. According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 975 000 poultry eggs from Vietnam, and about 4 800 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 2.9 million poultry eggs from Germany last year.
"The CFS has contacted the Vietnamese and German authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.
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