UAE bans poultry from Bavaria over bird flu

DUBAI, Aug 31 (Reuters) The United Arab Emirates has banned the import of poultry and birds from the German region of Bavaria where the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was found on a farm, the official WAM news agency said today.

It said Acting Minister of Environment and Water Humaid al-Qattami banned imports of all poultry products, live birds and fowl, as well as pet birds from the Bavaria province.

It did not say how long the ban would last.

The outbreak in Bavaria was identified on August. 25 after dead ducks found in a poultry farm tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the virus.

The farm in Bavaria's Erlangen-Hoechestadt area was sealed off and all 160,000 birds there culled.

The virus has spread to the Middle East, Africa and Europe since it re-emerged in Asia in 2003.

According to World Health Organisation data, bird flu has killed 195 people in 322 known cases. Hundreds of millions of birds have died or been slaughtered.

REUTERS KK VC1936