Isreal Bird Flu Scare

[swirlundergrounder]

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli veterinary officials on Sunday proceeded with the slaughter of hundreds of thousands turkeys and chickens as new tests came close to confirming Israel's first outbreak of the deadly bird flu.

Agriculture Ministry spokeswoman Dafna Varisca said "it's very close to 100 percent" sure that the virus has spread to Israel.

She said test results identified hemagglutinin, one of the two proteins in the deadly strain of avian flu. Test results from the second protein, neuraminidase, were still pending, she said.

Even while waiting for formal confirmation, the country was taking no chances. The Cabinet devoted its weekly meeting Sunday to the outbreak, while veterinary officials dressed in protective suits continued the systematic slaughter of poultry in four farming communities suspected of being hit by the virus.

Varisca estimated 400,000 to 500,000 turkeys and chickens would be killed by drinking poisoned water.

At Sunday's Cabinet meeting, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to form a task force within days to handle compensating farmers for their losses. Damage is expected to run into millions of dollars.

"There is no indication that there is a possibility that the disease has spread to humans," Olmert told the Cabinet. "All measures necessary to ensure that won't happen have been taken." Officials say there is no risk of contracting the disease from properly cooked poultry.

H5N1 has killed or forced the slaughter of tens of millions of chickens and ducks across Asia since 2003, and recently spread to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Health officials fear H5N1 could evolve into a virus that can be transmitted easily between people, potentially triggering a global pandemic, though there is no evidence that is happening.

About 100 people have died from the disease worldwide, most after having been directly infected by sick birds. Several people were hospitalized in Israel on suspicion they might have been infected, but those concerns were quickly dismissed, and the patients were released.

The government had been anticipating an outbreak of the disease because the flu already had been reported in nearby countries. Israel is at the crossroads of major bird migratory paths.

The Maariv newspaper on Sunday ran a photograph of turkey carcasses on one of the affected farms lying on the ground exposed, where scavenging birds could pick at them and pass on the disease.

Dr. Shimon Perk, head of the Agriculture Ministry's poultry diseases unit, said that problem has since been resolved.

The flu alert was sounded on Wednesday after thousands of turkeys started dying in southern and central Israel. By late Thursday, health officials proclaimed that the disease apparently had hit, and the killing of turkeys began over the weekend as a protective measure.

The Agriculture Ministry has quarantined the four infected farming communities, barring people from entering a 3-kilometer (2-mile) radius. The ministry was also testing fowl within a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius of those areas to ensure the flu has not spread.

Perk said he expected all the flocks in the quarantined areas to be destroyed within the next few days.

Palestinian heath officials, meanwhile, fearing the flu would spread into their territories, buried alive hundreds of chickens on Saturday. The ministry officials said they had taken blood samples from the chickens, but did not want to risk waiting two or three days for the results.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broad

[Slide On The Ice]

If their bird flu scare turns out to be a false alarm after killing all those birds, you know that somebody is going to cry fowl.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Slide

If their bird flu scare turns out to be a false alarm after killing all those birds, you know that somebody is going to cry fowl.

that was a pretty good one, man.

[Slide On The Ice]

Originally Posted by JMT

[quote author=Slide On The Ice link=board=6;threadid=26239;start=0#msg305652 date=1142922649]
If their bird flu scare turns out to be a false alarm after killing all those birds, you know that somebody is going to cry fowl.

that was a pretty good one, man.
[/quote]
Heh heh. I figured I shouldn't be a chicken to throw that one out there and just wing it.

[Apotheosis]

Originally Posted by Slide

[quote author=JMT link=board=6;threadid=26239;start=0#msg305739 date=1142956547]
[quote author=Slide On The Ice link=board=6;threadid=26239;start=0#msg305652 date=1142922649]
If their bird flu scare turns out to be a false alarm after killing all those birds, you know that somebody is going to cry fowl.

that was a pretty good one, man.
[/quote]
Heh heh. I figured I shouldn't be a chicken to throw that one out there and just wing it.
[/quote]

ok, that'll be enough. :P