Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today that it has suspended the import of poultry meat and products from Washburn County in Wisconsin. The suspension follows a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. CFS said the suspension was ordered in order to protect public health in Hong Kong. 

Hong Kong imported about 21,470 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 57.11 million poultry eggs from the US in the first nine months of last year, according to data from the Census and Statistics Department.

"The CFS has contacted the American authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak," the spokesperson said. "Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation."