Morocco suspends poultry imports.

Morocco has suspended imports of one-day-old birds and poultry from countries where the bird flu virus has been declared, and placed an order for 10 million vaccine doses.

The measures were decided by the inter-ministerial crisis management commission (CIGC) in charge of controlling the H5N1 virus. It said as of Monday the government will vaccinate all non-confinable birds to ward off possible infection from migratory birds.

The concerned birds include ostrich, duck, partridge, bustard, and pheasant, said the source, adding that the supply commission is seeking to purchase more drugs and protection means .

The government has recently taken measures aiming at compelling the confinement of certain poultry species in some fifty sites close to wetlands to prevent contact with wild or migratory birds.

Vigilance is a must, said the commission, although no case has been recorded, noting that on Wednesday alone some sixty analyses were made.

On Wednesday, Premier Driss Jettou, who along with a number of ministers visited a poultry farm, stressed that there was not a single case of avian influenza in Morocco.

He told the press "the public and the international opinion will be informed automatically and without any hesitation in case the H5N1 virus is detected in Morocco."

Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news