Israel discovers bird flu outbreak near Lebanese border

Jerusalem (ANTARA) – Israel discovered an outbreak of the pathogenic H5N1 bird flu in chicken farms in the north, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement on Sunday (12/19).

Bird flu is spreading in egg-laying chicken coops in Margaliot village near the Lebanese border, he said.

The outbreak was revealed after the dead chickens increased and samples were examined in a laboratory.

The ministry then isolated the farm, which includes 244,000 chickens. They also stopped selling eggs from that location and carried out tests on other nearby farms.

Farms in the area sell about six million eggs a month, out of about 200 million eggs consumed each month in Israel.

H5N1 bird flu also infects other animals such as pigs, cats and tigers. In rare cases bird flu also infects humans.

Initial symptoms in humans are usually characterized by severe respiratory illness and fever. Cases of avian influenza H5N1 have recently been found on a number of farms in northern and southern Israel.

On Thursday the ministry reported that dozens of wild storks in the northeastern Hula Valley had bird flu.

Source: Xinhua
Also read: Israel reports first H1N1 flu death toll

Also read: Second Palestinian Victim Died of Swine Flu

Translator: Asri Mayang Sari
Editor: Atman Ahdiat
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA 2021

–