Official sources say that the Food and Health Bureau announced yesterday a 21-day suspension on imports of live poultry, birds and related products from Xinhui, Jiangmen in Guangdong province after being notified by the Ministry of Agriculture of confirmed cases of H5N1 bird flu virus in ducks in the area.

The Guangdong Inspection & Quarantine Technology Center has told the SAR government that there is a live poultry farm seven kilometres from ground zero that is a registered exporter to Hong Kong.

The Center said, however, that the farm's supply to the SAR is insignificant and it is not among the 18 farms being investigated for involvement in the recent bird flu infection in the city's markets.