“The import requests for chicken meat and products from areas with avian flu outbreaks will not be approved,” stated Macau’s Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM).
In a statement, the IAM pledged to “continue to rigorously control fresh food imports and sales in Macau through an effective import inspection and quarantine mechanism.”
The IAM also banned the import of poultry meat and products from various regions in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States for the same reason.
On Tuesday, neighboring Hong Kong banned the import of poultry meat and products, including eggs, from Portugal’s district, “to protect public health,” following a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health.
According to official data cited in the statement, Hong Kong did not import poultry meat or products from Portugal in the first nine months of 2025.
Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety (CFS) emphasized in a statement that it has already contacted Portuguese authorities and will “closely monitor” the situation and information issued by the World Organisation for Animal Health.
“Appropriate measures will be taken in response to the situation’s development,” stated the CFS.
On Thursday, Portugal’s Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary (DGAV) ordered the confinement of domestic birds in 95 areas across 14 districts identified as high-risk for avian flu.
“Poultry and captive birds held in establishments, including home confinements, located in the parishes listed as high-risk zones for avian flu must be confined to their accommodations to prevent contact with wild birds,” indicated the DGAV in an official notice.
This concerns the districts of Porto, Lisbon, Braga, Viana do Castelo, Aveiro, Leiria, Coimbra, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Setúbal, Évora, Beja, Portalegre, and Faro.
Two days prior, the DGAV had warned that the risk of the spread of bird flu was high.
The total number of outbreaks this year in Portugal stands at 31, with the most recent detected at a captive bird exhibition in Oliveira do Bairro, Aveiro district, and at a captive bird establishment in the parish of Parreira and Chouto, Santarém district.
These areas will remain under sanitary restriction until December 12 and 19, respectively, according to the DGAV.
The transmission of the H5N1 virus to humans occurs rarely, with sporadic cases reported worldwide. However, when it happens, the infection can lead to severe clinical outcomes.
