Bird flu in Israel

Israel - state lying in Western Asia, parliamentary democracy and the only Jewish state in the world. Although officially formed in 1947, Israel is historically documented even as far as the year 1211 BC. The country has a technologically advanced market economy which depends heavily on imports of fossil fuels, grains, raw materials and military equipment.

Israel - Bird flu confirmed in more locations

Friday, May 5th, 2006

ERUSALEM, March 20 - Israel confirmed on Monday that the H5N1 strain of bird flu had been detected in two more locations in southern Israel, bringing the total number of infected sites to six, local newspaper Ha’aretz reported.

    The Israeli Agriculture Ministry made the announcement one day after it confirmed that the lethal H5N1 strain of avian flu led to the deaths of thousands of turkeys in southern Israel last week.

    The ministry said that the two communities– Nir Oz and Amir Oz– in western Negev desert in southern Israel, were located close to the communal farms where bird flu was first found.

    The ministry said that the H5N1 virus was blamed for the deaths of poultry there. The two communities have been ordered to cull thousands of birds.

    Israel has been the latest country hit by the deadly virus, which has killed some 100 people worldwide in the last few years and is spreading rapidly across the world.

    Experts fear that the disease, currently jumping from birds to humans through close contact, might mutate into a form that can easily pass among humans, leading to a global pandemic.

Posted in Israel

Israel culls 1.2 million poultry for bird flu

Friday, May 5th, 2006

Israel completed on Saturday the burial of poultry suspected to be contracted with bird flu, bringing the number of birds destroyed since the outbreak of the epidemic to 1.2 million, local Ha’aretz newspaper reported.

Israeli veterinary services are now preparing for another possible outbreak of the disease in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians are not destroying the infected birds out of fear of losing a key source of income without receiving compensation, the report said.

Israel Radio reported on Saturday that the World Bank promised to compensate Palestinian farmers who will be forced to cull fowl infected with the avian flu.

In contacts with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz agreed to donate two million U.S. dollars which would cover the losses of the Palestinian chicken- growers.

The World Bank announced it also planned to continue efforts to raise funds which would offset the losses in the Palestinian poultry sector, Israel Radio said.

The Palestinian agriculture minister confirmed on Friday that the deadly bird flu virus had been found in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

This is the second Gazan location with the outbreak following Gaza City being identified earlier this week.

Posted in Israel