AsianFin -- China’s General Administration of Customs and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly announced on Monday a ban on the direct and indirect import of poultry and related products from Spain. The move comes after the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in Spanish poultry farms.

The ban follows confirmation from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu in Spain. The Chinese authorities said the measure is designed to prevent the virus from entering China and to protect the country’s livestock industry and biosecurity.

According to WOAH and Spanish officials, Spain reported an outbreak of H5N1 on a fattening turkey farm located in the southwestern Extremadura region. This was reported to Reuters on July 18.

Furthermore, an update from China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on August 5 highlighted additional outbreaks. Spain notified WOAH of one domestic poultry outbreak and three wild bird outbreaks of H5N1 in Castilla-La Mancha and other regions between July 28 and August 1. These incidents have resulted in the infection of approximately 10,000 poultry, with 2,000 deaths, the culling of 43,000 birds, and the deaths of 36 wild birds.