26th Jun 2006, BUDAPEST: Russia has banned poultry imports from Hungary to prevent the spread of the bird flu virus, the Agriculture Ministry said on Monday.
The ban, effective from 23 June, applies to live birds hatching eggs, poultry meat and all poultry products not subject to thermal treatment, poultry feed and equipment used in keeping and slaughtering birds, Reuters reported.
Russia has been battling with bird flu since last July. From early 2006, it has culled 335,000 domestic fowl to stop the spread of the virus, while over 1 million fowl have died of the disease.
This year the virus has been confirmed in 11 Russian regions in the south and in Siberia. As of 21 June, only one locality in the Siberian Omsk region remained under quarantine.
In mid June, the highly infectious H5N1 strain of bird flu, which is also dangerous for humans, was confirmed in Hungary . The government has said it may cull up to half a million birds in the affected area.
