Bird flu suspected on Israeli turkey farms
Israel’s agriculture minister today said the widespread death of turkeys at two communities in southern Israel could have been caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.
The outbreak, if confirmed, would be the first case of the virus in Israel.
Agriculture Minister Zeev Boim said Israel was still testing the birds to determine whether they had the feared flu strain.
“Tonight, we will likely find out if indeed we are talking about bird flu,” Boim told Israel TV.
“In the meantime, it is a suspicion.”
The suspected outbreak was centred on the Negev Desert farming community of Ein Hashlosha and the nearby community of Holit, where a large number of turkeys were found dead, Boim said.
“We have imposed a quarantine in a radius of 5 miles around the area, and we are prepared, in case our suspicions are confirmed, to prepare for a widescale destruction of the flocks in a radius of 2 miles,” he said.
The H5N1 virus was detected in neighbouring Egypt last month, and Boim said the death of the birds in southern Israel might indicate that the disease could have entered the country from Egypt.
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