China has decided to suspend imports of poultry and related
products from Canada, which has reported a suspected bird flu
outbreak, according to the State Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine reaching Sunday.
All birds which have been transported to China from Canada and
are waiting for quarantine inspection will be returned or
destroyed, and those that have been inspected will have to undergo
further testing for the bird flu virus, the administration said in
a circular distributed across the country.
The circular also forbids transporting birds into the country by
post or with passengers.
Birds from Canada will be sealed off if they are found on
international ships, airplanes and trains that pass China. All the
birds found smuggled from Canada will be destroyed by quarantine
authorities.
On Feb. 19, the health department in Canada reported a suspected
H7 bird flu case in a chicken farm in the western part of the
country.
(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2004)