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Avian Influenza

Bird Import Ban

Written by Ramaz Mitaishvili

Wednesday, 13 February 2008

General Information

Based on concerns about highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus and its potential to cause illness in humans, CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have taken steps to prevent importation of birds and unprocessed bird products from countries with the virus in domestic poultry. The import restrictions do not apply to U.S.-origin pet birds which will be allowed to return upon entering a USDA quarantine facility for 30 days. The import restrictions also do not apply to processed bird products that have been rendered noninfectious. Countries affected by the CDC and USDA import restrictions are outlined in the following table:

Countries Affected by Current CDC and USDA

Bird Import Restrictions

East Asia and the Pacific:

Burma (Myanmar)
Cambodia
China
Indonesia
Japan
Laos
Malaysia
South Korea
Thailand
Vietnam
South Asia:
Afghanistan
India
Kazakhstan
Pakistan

Europe & Eurasia:

Albania
Azerbaijan
Denmark (USDA – defined restricted zone only)
Hungary (USDA – defined restricted zone only)
France (USDA – defined restricted zone only)
Romania
Russia
Sweden (USDA - defined restricted zone only)
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom (USDA – defined restricted zone only)