UAE bans birds and poultry products from Kuwait after virus outbreak

Ministry of Climate Change and Environment aid move is aimed at preventing spread of bird flu

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has banned the import of domestic and wild birds and poultry products from Kuwait due to a bird flu outbreak. EPA    

The import of live birds and poultry products from Kuwait has been banned in the UAE following the outbreak of a bird flu strain.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment announced the ban on Thursday following an outbreak of a contagious strain of bird flu, H5N8, in Kuwait.

Thermal treated poultry products will be permitted.

“By taking immediate precautionary measures to curb any strains of the bird flu virus that has affected Kuwait from reaching the UAE, we hope to ensure bio-security levels and prevent the spread of pathogens in the country,” said Majid Al Qassimi, director of the animal health and development department at the ministry.

The ban protects the country’s poultry from bird flu and secures public well being, he said.

The banned imports from Kuwait until the outbreak is brought under control include all species of domestic, wild live birds, ornamental birds, chicks, hatching and table eggs, poultry meat, and by-products and waste that are not thermally heated.

The decision was based on a notification from the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases.

The government had temporarily banned the import of birds and eggs from East Malaysia, Russia, the Netherlands and Bulgaria over the last year based on international recommendations.