The Macau Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday that it has ordered the suspension of importing poultry meat and poultry meat products from certain areas in the United States due to the recent outbreaks of the highly pathogenic Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 there.
According to the statement, the H5N1 bird flu has been reported in the US in Miami-Dade County of Florida, Delta County of Colorado and Lenoir County of North Carolina.
Therefore, the bureau will not approve import applications for poultry meat and poultry meat products from the affected areas, and the bureau will continue to strictly control fresh food sold in Macau, the statement said.
According to the bureau, all fresh food products must be declared and pass mandatory inspection and quarantine before they are imported, adding that the bureau will examine each health certificate issued by the country of origin to prove that the products come from non-infected areas and are fit for human consumption before the bureau approves the import application documents.
The statement said the bureau has notified Macau’s importers of the ban, and it will continue to monitor the applications for import of products of animal origin from around the world, and take corresponding preventive and control measures in accordance with a recent announcement of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
