Hong Kong’s food safety authority has said that imports of poultry meat and products from areas across a number of European countries have been suspended.
Imports of poultry meat and products from areas including in Ireland and the UK, along with countries such as France, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Germany have been suspended.
This is according to the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of Hong Kong.
In November, a number of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 have been confirmed in Irish turkey flocks in Co. Laois, Co. Monaghan, Co. Meath and Co. Carlow.
Following each of these confirmed outbreaks and notification made by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the authorities in Hong Kong moved to suspend the import of poultry meat and products coming from these areas with “immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong”.
It has also suspended imports from areas across the UK and Northern Ireland when outbreaks have occurred.
“The CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the relevant areas,” it said.
Poultry imported
A CFS spokesperson said that Hong Kong has a protocol with Ireland for the import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs.
“According to the Census and Statistics Department, in the first nine months of this year, Hong Kong imported about 20 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Ireland.”
The CFS said it has contacted Irish authorities on the matter of bird flu and poultry import suspensions, “and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak”.
“Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the CFS added.
Latest outbreak in Laois
The latest outbreak of bird flu in a commercial Irish turkey flock was confirmed in a holding in Co. Laois on November 21.
Restriction zones have been established around the affected holding, which includes a 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone, in line with national and EU legislation.
The larger zone extends across parts of counties Laois, Offaly and Kildare.
A compulsory housing order came into effect in Ireland on November 10.
Poultry and captive birds must be housed or confined in such a manner that they do not have access to other poultry, captive birds or wild birds.
There is also a ban on gatherings of birds from different premises to protect the birds from the risk of infection, such as shows, fairs and sales.
Although avian influenza can be very contagious between birds, the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) and the European Centre for Disease Control advise that the risk to public health from the strain of avian influenza that is circulating is very low.
The HSE told Agriland: “No human cases of avian influenza have been notified to the HSE-HPSC. HPSC undertakes systematic surveillance of all types of influenza.
“Regional Public Health teams who manage incidents will ascertain if a person may have handled birds, what the circumstances were, and take appropriate action accordingly.”
