U.S. Faces Trade Bans Over H7 Bird Flu

WASHINGTON - Feb 11/04 - SNS -- The avian flu situation in the United States took a turn for the worse with the discovery of a second flock of chickens infected with the milder H7 strain of avian influenza -- one which is not capable of being transferred to humans. This is completely different from the dangerous, H5N1 strain sweeping through Asia.

The discovery garnered an immediate reaction from more countries. Imports bans have now been imposed by Indonesia, Brazil, China, Poland, Ukraine, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. Russia and the Philippines are only banning imports from the state of Delaware.

Canada said it is monitoring the situation and is not banning chicken imports from the United States. This is similar to the attitude Canada has adopted with respect to imports of U.S. beef since the discovery of a BSE Infected cow in Washington state. Unfortunately, Canada's sophisticated attitude has not been rewarded.

Updating the situation in Delaware, the state agriculture department says a commercial chicken farm in northern Sussex County, Delaware has tested positive for H7 avian influenza. This is the first time that avian influenza has been detected in a commercial chicken house on Delmarva. This follows the detection of the virus in a New York live bird market chicken house in southern Kent County, Delaware.