(Reuters) – The United States has imposed restrictions on imports of some poultry and by-products from Victoria, Australia, following the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or avian influenza, in poultry.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Ministry of Agriculture said on Friday that restrictions from May 22 will remain in effect until further notice.
Unprocessed poultry products and by-products originating in Victoria or in transit will not be allowed into the United States, the department said.
The import of poultry, commercial birds, ratites and hatching eggs is also prohibited. Pets and zoo birds can be imported with an import permit, subject to a 30-day quarantine.
In March, avian flu spread to humans and other mammal species, including dairy cattle in the United States, raising concerns that it will mutate into a virus that can be transmitted between people and trigger a pandemic.
Victoria was also the site of the 2020 H7N7 outbreak, the most recent of nine avian influenza outbreaks in Australia since 1976. According to the Australian government, all of them were quickly curbed and eradicated.