BRUSSELS, July 26: The European Union on Monday extended until December 15 its ban on chicken products and pet birds from nine Asian countries due to potentially deadly bird flu.

"The Commission has adopted a decision to continue the suspension of imports into the EU of chicken products and pet birds from several Asian countries where avian influenza has been confirmed since the beginning of the year," the executive European Commission said in a statement.

The countries are Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, China, South Korea, and Vietnam. The ban had been due to expire on August 15, but the Commission said "in some of these countries, outbreaks of avian influenza still occur and the overall disease situation in the area remains unclear".

A new outbreak was confirmed on July 3 in Thailand, the world's fourth-biggest chicken exporter in 2003, prompting the country to cull around 200,000 fowl. -Reuters