Russia may suspend poultry imports from China because of flu
MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - The danger of bringing the dangerous bird flu virus H7N9 to Russia from China exists, Russian consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor chief Gennady Onishchenko said.
"The risk of bringing it in does exist," he said.
Rospotrebnadzor asked China to provide it with an H7N9 flu strain, which has reportedly killed 16 people in China, and over 70 others have fallen ill, he said.
"We have officially addressed the World Health Organization and Chinese authorities so that they provide us with a strain of this flu for analysis," Onishchenko said.
"We are considering the restriction of poultry imports to Russia," he said.
While there has been no information indicating that large shipments of poultry are being exported from China to Russia, China has banned sales of fresh meat at markets, and so the volume of such meat's imports to Russia could grow, he said.
"Another factor that alarms us is: spring has come, and there is the danger that the flu could be brought in by migrant birds," Onishchenko said.
Onishchenko had told Interfax earlier that Rospotrebnadzor would not ban trips to China in the near future, although it would not recommend going to Shanghai without an urgent need.
According to the Chinese authorities, the overall number of people who have died from the H7N9 flu virus has reached 16, with 77 bird flu infection cases recorded in China. The authorities have warned that this number could grow. Infection with the flu virus has been recorded in Shanghai and Beijing, and in the Henan province.
