Amman - Jordan on Monday banned the import of all types of meat, including pork, from countries with reported cases of swine flu including the United States and Mexico, a senior official announced. The government also set up a technical committee and tasked it with formulating precautionary measures to avert the outbreak of the epidemic in the country, Nasser Hawamdeh, Assistant Secretary General at the Agricultural Ministry, said.

"Despite the limited number of families who raise swine in Jordan, the ministry's vets will intensify their visits to these farms to conduct the required tests on pigs and provide us with reports," he said.

The ministry would also ask hunters to provide samples of pigs they hunt near the Jordanian-Israeli border, he added. The area, according to Hawamdeh, is known to be home to wild pigs.

Health authorities meanwhile distributed a circular to hospitals and primary health centres detailing the symptoms of swine influenza.(dpa)