South Korea, Macedonia impose ban on poultry imports following outbreak of bird flu

South Korea has imposed a ban on the importation of all poultry products from Britain and the Netherlands following reported cases of avian influenza in the two countries.

The South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is asking people who are visiting the affected countries to avoid making contact with farm animals and also avoid bringing any poultry or meat products from the affected countries.

Meanwhile, Macedonia has also announced a temporary ban on all poultry from the UK, the Netherlands and Germany, where cases were detected earlier, at the beginning of this month.

Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is a respiratory disease that can be transmitted to humans from bird species.

The first time the virus was found to have affected people was in 1997, when the flu struck 18 people, six of whom died.

Source: Ria Novosti