Russia bans import of poultry from Finland and Sweden

Outbreaks of fowl plague were registered in several Scandinavian provinces

The Federal Veterinary Service of the Russian Federation has imposed a temporal ban on the import of poultry from several provinces of Sweden and Finland, Rosbalt news agency reports.

“In connection with incidents of Newcastle disease (fowl plague) in Western Finland, the import of living birds, poultry, eggs and all other kinds of poultry products, which have not been subjected to thermal treatment, is temporarily prohibited,” a message from the veterinary service said. The import of poultry from the Swedish Province of Ostergotland has been banned for the same reason.

The veterinary service of Finland has taken all measures to prevent the spreading of Newcastle disease in the national poultry farming. A security zone three kilometers large has been set up around the farm, where the outbreak of the disease was registered. The veterinary service controls the area of ten kilometers around the farm. In addition, the Finnish Veterinary Service informed, the farm has been disinfected and closed for three-week quarantine.

The outbreak of the Newcastle virus was registered on July 19th in Western Finland, the region of Satakunta. The virus was not found in other poultry farms of the region.

Newcastle disease is a severe fowl virus infection. The virus deteriorates the nervous, digestive systems and respiratory tracts of birds. According to experts' estimates, the measure will not damage the Russian poultry market, because the import of Scandinavian poultry to Russia is not considerable.