The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has temporarily suspended poultry imports from the U.S., where a bird flu outbreak has now spread to 14 states.

The ban, which covers live poultry, frozen and processed poultry meat and eggs, took effect on May 1, Nguyen Xuan Binh, director of the ministry’s Animal Health Agency Zone VI, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday.

The agency is in charge of veterinary issues in Ho Chi Minh City and 10 other provinces in southern Viet Nam.

Shoppers choose frozen chicken at a supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City.

Products that have been purchased under contracts signed prior to the suspension and whose shipments are en route to Viet Nam will be allowed to pass customs, but will undergo tightened quarantine checks, Binh added.

The ministry’s veterinary department has notified relevant agencies countrywide of the ban.

Virulent H5 avian influenza strains have spread to 14 states in five months and affected about 26 million birds in the worst outbreak of the disease in U.S. history, Reuters said Wednesday, citing the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Many countries, including Mexico, Canada, China, Angola, and Russia have also temporarily stopped buying poultry and poultry products from the U.S. following the outbreak.

(Source: tuoitrenews)