MAPUTO/LIBREVILLE, Oct. 28(Xinhuanet)-- Mozambique and Gabon on Friday banned imports of poultry products from the countries affected by bird flu outbreaks.

Mozambican experts met earlier this week in Maputo to map out astrategy to fend off a possible bird flu outbreak in the country amid fears that migratory birds might bring the deadly H5N1 strainof the bird flu virus from Europe to Africa.

The priority now is to test and police the occurrences of possible bird flue cases with the existing technologies, Mozambican officials said.

In August 2004, Mozambique banned imports of poultry products, including live fowls and eggs from neighboring South Africa where more than 2,000 ostriches died from bird flu. More than 30,000 ostriches were culled subsequently to prevent a wider spread of the epidemic.

The Gabonese government said Friday in a statement that all importers of poultry, pork and their derivatives must declare the origins of the products to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestocks.

An anti-bird flu commission has been established to monitor poultry breeding across the country, particularly along the borderand in the port cities, said the statement.

More than 60 people have been killed since bird flu flared up in 2003 in Asia. Scientists and health experts fear the H5N1 strain could mutate into a virus that could be easily spread through human-to-human contact.

Experts fear that Africa, the world's poorest continent, lacks the infrastructure to manage disease outbreaks and contain a possible deadly global human flu epidemic. Enditem