South Korea has banned imports of poultry products from the United Kingdom where a case of avian influenza has been detected.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on Wednesday that it took the step after the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of bird flu was reported at a farm in the northwestern county of Cheshire in England.

The ministry said the ban effectively blocks imports of all birds and poultry products from the region, including chicken and duck meat. 

The ministry has recently tightened virus tests on imports of birds and poultry products following bird flu cases in Germany, the Netherlands, Israel and Russia.