The Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety (CFS) stressed in a statement that the decision was taken "to protect public health," after a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health.

According to official data cited in the statement, the territory did not import poultry meat or by-products from Portugal in the first nine months of 2025.

The CFS said it has already contacted the Portuguese authorities and will closely monitor the situation and the information issued by the World Organisation for Animal Health.

"Appropriate measures will be taken in response to the development of the situation," it said.

The CFS (French Food and Veterinary Council) also banned, for the same reason, the import of poultry meat and by-products from several regions of Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, France, and Denmark.

On Thursday, the Portuguese Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Medicine (DGAV) ordered the confinement of domestic birds in 95 areas across 14 districts identified as high-risk for avian influenza.

“Poultry and captive birds kept in establishments, including home-based holdings, located in the parishes included in the list of high-risk areas for avian influenza must be confined to their respective enclosures to prevent contact with wild birds,” the DGAV indicated in a notice.

The districts in question are Porto, Lisbon, Braga, Viana do Castelo, Aveiro, Leiria, Coimbra, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Setúbal, Évora, Beja, Portalegre, and Faro.