YEREVAN, February 5 (RIA Novosti) - Armenia has imposed a temporary ban on poultry imports from a number of countries out of concern over the spread of the bird flu virus, the head of the state veterinary inspection said Monday.
"We cannot rule out the possibility of the bird flu virus spreading to Armenia," Grigor Bagyan said.
He said imports of poultry products have been banned from Azerbaijan, Hungary, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Nigeria.
Bagyan said all the necessary preventive measures have been reinforced, especially at border checkpoints.
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has claimed dozens of human lives since it first appeared in Asia in 2003. It has since spread worldwide, and scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form transmissible between humans, sparking a global pandemic.
