DDHK News, Hong Kong - The authorities of the Hong Kong special administrative region have banned the import of salted duck eggs from Nam Dinh, Quang Ngai, Tay Ninh, Khanh Hoa, Ca Mau and Kon Tum Vietnam provinces due to concerns over the H5N1 bird flu outbreak.
A ban on imports of the same product from Vietnam's northern provinces of Hoa Binh and Bac Ninh is also still in place because the human-contagious poultry disease has been detected in several farmers' homes in these areas, according to officials from the Hong Kong Center for Food Safety.
They said they would monitor the situation and maintain contact with local egg importers, distributors and retailers to prevent the spread of bird flu.
The import ban comes as Hong Kong is battling the H7N9 bird flu which broke out in August, with five cases of infection, including three fatalities.
Prior to this past Chinese New Year, Hong Kong culled 20.000 chickens after the H7N9 bird flu virus was found in poultry imported from mainland China, VNA reported. (AMONG).*
