WattAgNet: Saudi Arabia bans Ontario poultry, eggs over AI fears

Saudi Arabia has issued a temporary ban on eggs and poultry from Ontario, citing concerns about avian influenza.

From WATTAgNet:

Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Food and Drug Authority has temporarily banned the import of poultry meat and eggs from the Canadian province of Ontario because avian influenza fears.

Saudi Arabia has already imposed similar bans on poultry and eggs from Thailand and from the United States, which has had confirmed avian influenza outbreaks in 18 states.

The ban on Ontario poultry follows three outbreaks of H5N2 avian influenza that have been confirmed in the province. All three outbreaks have occurred in Ontario’s Oxford County.

Ontario’s three cases of avian influenza confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) affected two commercial turkey flocks and one broiler breeder operations. The turkey operations included flocks of 44,800 and 8,000 birds, respectively, while the broiler breeder operation had a flock of 27,000 birds, according to CFIA.

All three Ontario avian influenza cases were confirmed in April.

Ontario is one of two Canadian provinces to have confirmed cases of avian influenza, with British Columbia being the other. However, animal health officials have said that it is doubtful that outbreaks in the two provinces are related.

See WATTAgNet’s avian influenza map to keep updated on avian influenza outbreaks in Canada and the United States.