(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.
Earlier this week, Australia reported its first case of bird flu in a person who authorities said was infected in India but made a full recovery, while another highly contagious strain was discovered at an egg farm.
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.
However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk to the public remains low.
Since 2022, more than 90 million chickens, 9,000 wild birds, 52 dairy herds and three people have been infected with avian influenza in the United States.
In April, Colombia became the first country to restrict imports of beef and beef products from U.S. states where dairy cows tested positive for avian influenza, a sign of the virus’s widening economic impact.
The Australian state of Victoria was the site of an H7N7 outbreak in 2020, the most recent of nine avian influenza outbreaks in the country since 1976. According to the Australian government, all of them were quickly curbed and eradicated.