The Ministry of Agriculture has temporarily banned the import of live Koi carps fish from the State of Austria because of the emergence of Koi herpes virus disease. The Director General of Animal and Plant Quarantine Department, Dr. Abdul Ghani bin Yusuf Al-Fadhel explained that the ban was based on a warning to the Ministry of Agriculture from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on the immediate notification of the emergence of Koi herpes virus disease. He pointed out that the ban covers all live Koi carps fish, whether for food or decoration, noting that it is a fast-spreading disease epidemics, especially in ornamental fish, and causing the deaths of large numbers of fish when it appears. The Kingdom's imports for the year 1436 AH of carp fish amounted to 1,344,918, and in 1435 AH to 899,620 fish.
