Food safety officials in Hong Kong banned imports of poultry meat and products from Douglas County, Oregon, where avian influenza was found in a backyard poultry flock, said Xinhua. The news agency said Hong Kong would be in close liaison with U.S. officials. Some 220,000 tons of frozen poultry meat and 426 million eggs have been imported from U.S. suppliers since January.
The ban by Hong Kong follows action by South Korea over the weekend. Seoul suspended imports of U.S. poultry and poultry products because of U.S. discovery of bird flu in northwestern Washington state, said Reuters.