EU suspends US poultry imports

The US says its strain of bird flu cannot infect humans

The European Commission has ordered a one-month ban on live poultry and egg imports from the United States, after a bird flu outbreak in Texas.

US officials say the outbreak is different from the deadly Asian strand and poses a low health risk to humans.

But EU Health Commissioner David Byrne said "safety had to come first", adding the EU would review the ban next month.

A quarter of EU's annual egg imports come from the US, worth 20m euros ($25.17m) in trade.

The EU also imports some 450,000 day-old-chicks a year from the US, more than half its imports in this category.

"It is not as virulent as the outbreak in Asia, but nevertheless its a highly contagious virus and therefore does require an immediate response from the EU David Byrne EU health commissioner

Russia - the largest poultry export market for the US - and Taiwan have also announced bans - but only on imports from Texas.

Texas is the fourth US state to be hit by bird flu after Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

But officials say the virus found in a Texas chicken flock is a more dangerous form.

The infected farm near San Antonio in south-central Texas has been quarantined over the weekend.

Officials are also monitoring farmworkers in the area as a precaution.

Contagious

European Commission officials say they learned about the outbreak late on Monday .

"It is not as virulent as the outbreak in Asia, but nevertheless its a highly contagious virus and therefore does require an immediate response from the EU," Health Commissioner Byrne told reporters.

"We want to ensure there is no risk posed."

EU agriculture ministers will decide whether to extend the ban at their meeting on 23 March.

Russia and Hong Kong had already banned imports from another US state, Delaware, while Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore had imposed total US bans.

The EU already has a ban on imports of poultry and products, including chicken meat, from Thailand and Vietnam.