Sri Lanka bans poultry imports from India
SRI LANKA - Sri Lanka has included India into its growing list of banned imports of poultry meat and all its by-products after bird flu was reported in Maharashtra, an official said today."Indian poultry have been affected by bird flu and that still poses a threat to the local industry," Dr S K Amarasekera, Director General, Animal Production and Health Department said.
Some of the banned by-products include skin and feathers which are used to pad jackets, sofas, belts as well as pet birds, he said.
About reports that an Indian man suspected to have died of the deadly H5N1 virus was in fact killed by a bacterial infection, the official said "the issue is not whether the man was killed by the virus."
Sri Lanka had slapped a blanket ban on all poultry imports last October amid fears of a global bird flu pandemic.
The ban was partially lifted last month to allow farmers to bring in one-day old chicks to maintain a steady supply of chicken and eggs.
Source: sify.com
20 February 2006
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