TIRANA, Oct. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Macedonia announced Monday a temporary ban of the import of chicken from Turkey and Romania in view of the cases of bird flu discovered in these two countries, the Macedonian Information Agency (MIA) reported.

    "There is no danger of bird flu in Macedonia and the authorized institutions are following closely the situation," the Director ofthe Veterinary Administration of Macedonia Sloboden Cokrevski saidafter announcing the ban.

    "There is no room for panic, because the information on bird flu in these countries are preliminary," Cokrevski said, adding that there was still no official confirmation on whether there were pathogens for humans.

    Cokrevski also informed that an inter-institutional commission had been established to conduct the issues of prevention and controls. Enditem

    Albania bans poultry import from Turkey, Romania

    TIRANA, Oct. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Albania announced on Monday a ban onpoultry import from Turkey and Romania in view of the avian flu cases discovered in these two countries.

    As a result of the controls made from the country's Food Control Inspectorate, there were no signs of this disease in Albania so far, the Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Protection said.

    According to the sources from this ministry, the poultry products are imported to Albania only from countries determined bythe European Commission and are the subjects to veterinary controls in the border crossing points.

    Meanwhile, the import of these products from Asian countries had been blocked since over one year before, the sources said. Enditem

    Bulgaria suspends live poultry import from Turkey, Romania

    SOFIA, Oct. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Bulgaria on Monday suspended the import of live wild birds, poultry, eggs and all kinds of products made of birds from neighboring Turkey and Romania, in an effort to prevent possible spread of bird flu virus from the two countries.

    The step was taken after Agriculture and Forest Minister Nihat Kabil issued three administrative orders on late Monday, among which the first is the ban order.

    The other two orders are on the banning of migratory birds hunting and the strengthening of monitor and control over fowls by the local poultry-farmers.

    Kabil explained that the decision is made after the European Commission confirmed the veterinary service on the issue in Turkey and Romania.

    The decision was made after a new round of bird flu took place last week in Romania and Turkey.

    Experts have considered that the virus was possibly carried in by migratory birds from the cold Siberia and Northern Europe. Enditem