UAE Bans Poultry Imports From Saudi Arabia Over Bird Flu Outbreak

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates has introduced a ban on imports of non-heat-treated poultry from Saudi Arabia, local media has reported.

According to the official Emirates News Agency, the ban was placed over a notification from the Gulf Early Warning Center of the outbreak of a highly contagious strain of bird flu at a market in Riyadh.

The heat-treated poultry products are allowed for imports, the news outlet added.

Earlier in the week, media reported about an outbreak of avian flu in the Saudi capital, which resulted in the deaths of 14 birds. Around 60,000 birds have been isolated in order to prevent the spread of the infection.

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Earlier in the year, Saudi Arabia imposed some restrictions on the imports of poultry from certain states, in particular from Bulgaria, in order to prevent the bird flu from spreading.