Saudi Arabia has imposed a temporary ban on imports of poultry meat and products from seven countries in response to the outbreak of bird flu sweeping across Asia, Saudi newspapers reported on Thursday.
They said the ban covered imports from South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Japan, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Arab News newspaper said Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Agriculture also banned the import of birds, hatching eggs and chicks from South Korea, Thailand, China, Japan, Vietnam and Pakistan.
Bird flu has killed at least eight people in a rapid sweep across Asia and raised the spectre of a global pandemic.
China halted poultry exports from three bird flu-affected areas on Thursday, and like most affected countries, is slaughtering domestic fowl by the tens of thousands in hopes of stamping the virus out.