JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture issued a temporary ban on importing living birds, hatching eggs and chicks from Malaysia. Head of the General Livestock Risk Assessment Department, Sanad Al-Harby, said the measure is to follow up on the state of veterinary health in countries around the world. The measure is also intended to study the warning letter issued by the World Organization for Animal Health, which states the emergence of bird flu or avian influenza cases in Malaysia. The step was a precautionary measure to avoid the spillover of the disease to the Kingdom.