Putussibau, W. Kalimantan (Antaranews Kalbar) - Indonesia has banned imports of fresh poultry products from Malaysia, on report of outbreak of bird flue virus in the neighboring country.
Head of the Quarantine Board has issued the import ban on fresh poultry products from Malaysia hit by avian influenza (AI), an official the Entikong Agriculture Quarantine Khaeruddin said here on Thursday.
Khaeruddin said highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) infected poultry in Malaysia , adding the ban, therefore, was issued to prevent the spread of the disease in Indonesia.
The Entikong Agriculture Quarantine will continue to watch and prevent the virus from being brought across the border to the country especially in West Kalimantan, he said.
Bird flu, also called avian influenza, is a viral infection that can infect not only birds, but also humans and other animals. Most forms of the virus are restricted to birds.
H5N1 is the most common form of bird flu. It?s deadly to birds and can easily affect humans and other animals that come in contact with a carrier. According to the World Health Organization, H5N1 was first discovered in humans in 1997 and has killed nearly 60 percent of those infected.
Currently, the virus isn't known to spread via human-to-human contact. Still, some experts worry that H5N1 may pose a risk of becoming a pandemic threat to humans.
Reported by Teofilusianto Timotius
Editing by Albert Saragih
