MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Russia has extended its ban on raw meat imports caused by the outbreak of swine flu to the U.S. states of New York and Ohio, the country's animal and plant health body Rosselkhoznadzor said on Tuesday. The ban will also apply to all raw and cooked meat products which could be carried in the personal luggage of passengers and crew, as well as to food served on board of airplanes and ships which had stopped in the two states, it said in a statement. Russia's top veterinarian said on Monday that the country, which had banned meat imports from some countries hit by the virus, including from top poultry meat supplier, the United States, could introduce new bans depending on the disease spread. [ID:nLR547374] From last Sunday, the ban applied to all types of meat from Mexico and the states of Texas, California and Kansas, and to raw pork from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Florida, countries of Central America and the Caribbean. Confirmed outbreaks of swine flu in Mexico, where it has killed 149 people, the United States, Canada and Europe have prompted health authorities to put customs officers on alert. [ID:nN27484099] Cases of the flu, which has components of classic avian, human and swine flu viruses but has not actually been seen in pigs, were also suspected in France, Italy and Israel. (Reporting by Aleksandras Budrys, Editing by Peter Blackburn)
A pig rests at a farm near the village of Belotincy, some 140 km (90 miles) from the capital Sofia, April 28, 2009. The United Nations' food agency said on Tuesday ...
