• Home

Ban on birds, eggs from Holland

The ministry has ordered officials at all sea ports, airports and land entry points to implement the ban until the live birds and eggs imported from Holland prove to be safe.

According to Engineer Khalfan Al Suweidi, head of Veterinary Quarantine Section oft the ministry, "the ban has been imposed under a decree issued on March 16 by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Saeed Al Raghabani.

"The ban is according to information received from the commercial office of Holland in Riyadh and the Office International de Epizootics (OIE) in Paris about the presence of avian influenza infection in Holland," he said.

Avian influenza, also known as fowl plague, is highly infectious and usually fatal in birds. However, he said that the disease did not usually affect human beings.

A source at the ministry said that avian influenza begins as a respiratory infection in birds and can develop into pneumonia that is fatal.

Infected animals feel drowsy, have a weak appetite and lay fewer eggs.

While in some cases the heads and necks of infected birds swell, others die before showing any symptoms.

The disease infects only birds, but there have been a few isolated cases when human beings contracted it.

The outbreak of bird sickness in Holland is the fourth major crisis in the Dutch agriculture sector in five years.

With a chicken population of 100 million, the latest disaster is costing the poultry industry an estimated £6.8 million a week.

The UAE is not a major importer of live birds from Holland. However, it imports a large quantity of eggs from that country.

According to the source, the ban will not affect supply of eggs in the local market since UAE also imports poultry and eggs from India, Singapore, Pakistan, Germany and other countries.

The market is also inundated by locally produced eggs and poultry, he added.

• UAE