The Kansas Department of Agriculture prohibited the movement of poultry in two counties that border Missouri after a virulent strain of bird flu was reported in that state.
The lockdown Thursday of poultry both in and out of Cherokee and Crawford counties was designed to protect Kansas livestock and will remain in place for at least 30 days, Reuters reported.
The same day as the prohibition along the southern area of the Kansas/Missouri border, Mexico--one of the largest importers of U.S. chicken--imposed new import restrictions in the wake of the discovery of bird flu in Arkansas, which is one of the country's biggest poultry-producing regions.
Since the spread of the virus began last year, Mexico, Canada, and the European Union have banned or restricted poultry imports from Arkansas, Missouri, Minnesota, California, Washington and Oregon. Both China and South Korea currently have total bans on U.S. poultry.
Earlier in the week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed cases of the virus at two commercial turkey flocks in Missouri. The virus has the potential to cause illness in humans; however, no such illnesses have been reported globally that are connected to the strains recently found in the U.S.
- read the Reuters story