KIEV, April 27 (RIA Novosti) - The deputy head of
Ukraine's state veterinary committee said on Monday the country
had banned the import of live pigs and pork from Mexico,
Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand as fears grew of a swine flu
pandemic.
He said the ban concerned all products imported from these
states since April 21.
"Such shipments will not be received or unloaded on
Ukrainian territory," Yuriy Satvary said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Monday a
special group had been established in the former Soviet
republic to study issues connected with swine flu. There have
so far been no reported cases in Ukraine.
The virus is suspected to have killed over a hundred
people in Mexico, although only 20 cases have been confirmed.
Over a 1,000 people have been infected with the virus in the
Latin American country.
Forty cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the United
States and six in Canada, although there have been no
fatalities. The United States has declared a public health
emergency. One case of swine flu has also been confirmed in
Spain. A number of cases of possible swine fever have also been
reported in the U.K.
World Health Organization director general Margaret Chan
warned on Sunday that the outbreak had "pandemic potential",
and urged governments to improve measures to monitor the virus.
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