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International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Fri 21 May 2010
Source: Maan News Agency [edited]
Tulkarem cleared of bird flu
----------------------------
The Tulkarem governorate in the northern West Bank was cleared of
bird flu on Thursday [20 May 2010], after the Palestinian Authority
Agriculture Ministry received results conducted in Israeli medical
laboratories, an official said. Azzam Tbeleh, the ministry's
under-secretary, said the Israeli Veterinary Services officially
handed over the final results, clearing the Bal'a area in Tulkarem.
The official said, despite being given the all clear, the Palestinian
Veterinary Services would endeavour to ensure that Tulkarem was free
of avian flu.
At least 750 000 chickens were slaughtered and destroyed in the
Tulkarem-area town of Bal'a, as a heavy Palestinian police presence
surrounded the area, ensuring areas where birds diagnosed with bird
flu were not transported out. The village, which exports between 4000
to 5000 cartons of eggs per day to areas in the West Bank, and
hundreds of pounds of meat, had its poultry stock wiped out following
the discovery of bird flu by PA officials from the Ministry of Agriculture.
No human cases of the influenza virus have yet been reported, but
officials said they are monitoring the area heavily to ensure proper
containment mechanisms are put in place.
Municipal council leader Bal'a Ahmad Mansur said the situation in the
town was dire. "Tension and anxiety are prevailing among the
farmers," he said, estimating losses in the millions of shekels. "At
least 40 percent of the town's economy is in chickens," he added.
Mansur urged government officials to help compensate farmers before
the town was left destitute.
Municipal official Sa'eed Hanun said doctors were monitoring local
clinics carefully, and distributing information on symptoms of bird
flu in humans to farming families. He said treatments would be
available immediately if a human case is found. As for the farms, he
said, they will be sterilized, "and the birds will be buried in a
healthy and safe way."
When a farmer noticed symptoms in several chicks, he called in
officials to test the birds. "The chicks were only 8 days old when we
learned that they were in fact positive for the virus," Hanun said.
From that point on, "We were obliged to declare a state of emergency
in Bal'a, imposing a health quarantine on all of the area and taking
preventive procedures so we don't see the spread of the virus to
other areas," he explained.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[The above newswire is rather ambiguous, including the following
somewhat disparate 3 pieces of information:
1. Final laboratory results "cleared the Bal'a area in Tulkarem."
2. "Despite being given the all clear, the Palestinian Veterinary
Services would endeavour to ensure that Tulkarem was free of avian flu."
3. "At least 750 000 chickens were slaughtered and destroyed in the
Tulkarem-area town of Bal'a."
According to information from the Avian and Fish Diseases Division,
Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan (national AI laboratory), an
initial sample from Bal'a, received there earlier this month, was
found H5N1 positive. This was based upon virus isolation and its
identification as HPAI H5N1 by Real Time PCR and HI. The isolate is
to be sent to an international AI reference laboratory after
completion of sequencing. A 2nd sample, received later, was found
negative. No additional samples have been received at Beit Dagan.
Elucidating the event by the Palestinian authorities will help. This
may include clinical observations, morbidity and mortality figures
and rates, necropsy findings, available data on additional
epidemiological investigations and their results, as well as
confirmation (or otherwise) that culling has indeed been applied.
"The location of Bal'a can be seen in the appended map at
- Mod.AS]
[see also:
Avian influenza (31): Palestinian Authority, West Bank, RFI 20100519.1647
Avian influenza (28): Palestinian Authority, West Bank, susp.
RFI 20100513.1562]
....................arn/ejp/mpp
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