WattAgNet: China: Avian influenza threat in Russia minimal Avian flu

Written April 26, 2016
China, Russia officials conclude 10-day visit concerning safety of possible poultry trade

China’s Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) recently conveyed to Russian officials that it felt the threat of avian influenza in Russia is minimal, according to Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance.

A delegation of five experts from the AQSIQ recently concluded a ten-day mission trip to Moscow, in which potential poultry trade was discussed. The delegation made visits to the following Rosselkhoznadzor institutions: the All-Russian State Centre for Quality and Standardization of Veterinary Drugs and Feed, Bryansk InterOblast Veterinary Laboratory, Federal Centre for Animal Health, Rosselkhoznadzor Territorial Administration for Belgorod Oblast, Belgorod InterOblast Veterinary Laboratory. The Chinese delegation also made visits to food markets, farms and processing plants in Russia’s Bryansk and Belgorod oblasts.

According to Rosselkhoznadzor, Chen Shi Sun, head of the AQSIQ Department for Beijing, was impressed by the Russian experts’ qualifications, veterinary laboratory equipment, biosecurity systems at poultry farms, and poultry slaughtering equipment, and because of those factors, considers the avian influenza threat in Russia to be minimal.

AQSIQ will prepare a final report to Rosselkhoznadzor concerning its findings on the mission trip in the coming weeks. Rosselkhoznadzor expressed to AQSIQ that it hoped the two agencies would continue to conduct a dialogue that is constructive.