ISTANBUL

Hong Kong on Thursday banned imports of poultry products from some areas of Denmark, Germany, and Belgium over concerns triggered by avian influenza.

Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety (CFS) announced that it prohibited the import of poultry meat and products, including eggs, from Soro municipality in Denmark, West-Vlaanderen province in Belgium and the district of Oberhavel of the State of Brandenburg in Germany.

CFS noted that the ban took immediate effect in order to “protect public health in Hong Kong,” in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in those regions.

A spokesman for CFS said that Hong Kong imported nearly 210 tons of frozen poultry meat and 150,000 eggs from Denmark, nearly 30 tons of frozen poultry meat from Belgium, and nearly 30 tons of frozen poultry meat from Germany in the first six months of this year.

"The CFS has contacted the Danish, Belgian and German authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, has been circulating among wild bird populations and poultry farms worldwide in recent years, causing high mortality rates and ecological damage.

Though rare, infections have also been reported in some mammals and humans who had close contact with infected animals.