17 May 2010 7:06 AM
Washington - In response to last week's avian flu outbreak in a West Bank village chicken population, the Israeli Agricultural Ministry has sent veterinary reinforcements for the culling of the birds and echoed the Palestinian's call for international organizations to help absorb to cost of the outbreak to farmers in the affected village, UN news agency IRIN reported Monday.
In Israel, avian flu cases in animals have been reported three times since 2006 [Photo: Philcampbell - Flickr]
The outbreak occurred in Bal' village near Tulkarem in the West Bank late last week. Bal'a exports up to 5,000 cartons of eggs and hundreds of pounds of meat each day, which is why Israel is on high alert, as well. An Israeli Healthy Ministry spokesman told IRIN, "We are always on the lookout for poultry and eggs smuggled into Israel from the Palestinian Authority [PA] but now we are tightening supervision at the PA-Israel crossings." IRIN said PA security forces surrounded the village during the culling to ensure no poultry was smuggled out for sale.
Reports on the outbreak last week said 750,000 will have to be culled, and today roughly 250,000 have already been put down.
Avian flu is not only restricted to the West Bank. May 7, Israel reported an outbreak in a zoo at Kibbutz Ein Gedi on the Dead Sea. International law obliges any country experiencing an avian flu outbreak to cease export of poultry and poultry products for one month.
No human cases have been reported in the Bal'a outbreak or in Israel
Washington - In response to last week's avian flu outbreak in a West Bank village chicken population, the Israeli Agricultural Ministry has sent veterinary reinforcements for the culling of the birds and echoed the Palestinian's call for international organizations to help absorb to cost of the outbreak to farmers in the affected village, UN news agency IRIN reported Monday.
In Israel, avian flu cases in animals have been reported three times since 2006 [Photo: Philcampbell - Flickr]
The outbreak occurred in Bal' village near Tulkarem in the West Bank late last week. Bal'a exports up to 5,000 cartons of eggs and hundreds of pounds of meat each day, which is why Israel is on high alert, as well. An Israeli Healthy Ministry spokesman told IRIN, "We are always on the lookout for poultry and eggs smuggled into Israel from the Palestinian Authority [PA] but now we are tightening supervision at the PA-Israel crossings." IRIN said PA security forces surrounded the village during the culling to ensure no poultry was smuggled out for sale.
Reports on the outbreak last week said 750,000 will have to be culled, and today roughly 250,000 have already been put down.
Avian flu is not only restricted to the West Bank. May 7, Israel reported an outbreak in a zoo at Kibbutz Ein Gedi on the Dead Sea. International law obliges any country experiencing an avian flu outbreak to cease export of poultry and poultry products for one month.
No human cases have been reported in the Bal'a outbreak or in Israel
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