Bird Flu Hits Gaza

[Susie]

http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=100572

Bird Flu Hits Gaza
10:18 Mar 22, '06 / 22 Adar 5766


(IsraelNN.com) Agriculture officials report on Wednesday morning that avian flu has hit Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled Gaza, reporting a chicken coop has been infected near the community of Ein HaShlosha.

PA agriculture officials have turned over some of the carcasses of the dead birds to Israel, working via the IDF district coordinating office. Lab tests will be conducted to confirm the presence of the disease in Gaza.

In the meantime, some 1 million birds will have been destroyed and buried throughout Israel by week end, with health officials hoping this will bring the current epidemic to an end.

Consumers are beginning to express concern, with doubts being placed on the integrity of poultry and eggs, staples for the upcoming Passover holiday which begins in three weeks.

[Snowy Owl]

Bird flu forces Israeli-Palestinian cooperation

The discovery of deadly bird flu in both Israel and the Palestinian territories is pushing the two sides to work together despite plummeting relations as Hamas prepares for government.

Israel confirmed on Thursday that the H5N1 strain that is dangerous to humans had been found in poultry in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, hot on the heels of its detection in both the Gaza Strip and six farms inside Israel.

Israeli officials said cooperation with the Palestinians on bird flu so far had been "strong and tight" and said a way needed to be found for that to continue, even after a Hamas-dominated government takes power on Monday, because of the threat to human health.

"The moment they had suspicions, they gave us the samples," said the spokesperson for the Israeli coordination team, Shlomo Dror, referring to specimens of dead poultry from Gaza which tested positive in Israeli laboratories on Wednesday.

"We told them: 'Everything you need, tell us and we will give you'."

Asked whether cooperation would end when the new Hamas-led government is sworn in, Dror replied: "We are not speaking with Hamas, as long as they are committed to the destruction of Israel.

"We will have to find a way to deal with the bird-flu issue, maybe through international organisations. But we will find a way to speak to the Palestinians -- there are things you have to coordinate, this flu can kill people."

Dror acknowledged that the radical Islamists of Hamas could block coordination through third parties, particularly as Israel no longer had any presence inside Gaza since last year's withdrawal of troops and settlers.

"Of course Hamas can interfere and object. If they decide tomorrow to cut the coordination they can do it."

But he stressed that the bird-flu virus, which has so far been found only in poultry, posed a more serious threat to human health among the Palestinians than among Israelis.

"The situation in Gaza is more delicate than in Israel because of the economic situation and also the fact that people are living with chickens."

The deputy agriculture minister in the outgoing Palestinian government, Azzam Tbeileh, said Israel had an obligation to help under international law because the territories remained under its occupation.

"It's the occupation's responsibility. We don't have vaccines and protective suits," Tbeileh said.

"We are going to maintain the highest degree of coordination and cooperation with the Israelis, but there are huge difficulties. We live under occupation and there are roadblocks. Even I have to go through the roadblocks.

"We're going to take some samples in other areas and send [them] to laboratories in Israel. We lack the laboratories and equipment ourselves. We have no other choice."

The official stressed that it was in Israel's interest to cooperate.

"This virus knows no boundaries, nor is it kept out by the separation wall" that Israel is building the length of the West Bank, he said.

Western donors, who have threatened to withhold financial assistance from a Hamas-led government unless it renounces violence and signs up to the peace process with Israel, have a similar problem in helping fight the outbreak.

Aid organization CARE International has been working with both the Palestinian authorities and foreign governments and agencies.

"There was a meeting with donors," said Ayman Shwaibi, the group's bird flu coordinator.

"I know that most of them, like the European Union, the World Bank and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation are interested in helping the Palestinians to fight the virus," he said.

"We are doing our best to support the Palestinian ministries of health and agriculture to have the minimum requested for diagnosing and protecting the staff." -- AFP

http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news&articleid=267491

[zkurmus]

Re: Bird flu forces Israeli-Palestinian cooperation

from zaman.com
addition to the above info:
Israel's Health Minister Yaakov Edri stated that the ministry will give 300 doses of Tamiflu to the Palestine governance.

Kuş gribiyle m?cadelede İsrail-Filistin işbirliği

İsrail ve Filistin, kuş gribi hastalığının yayılmasına karşı işbirliği yapıyor.

İsrail Sağlık Bakanı Yaakov Edri, hastalıkla m?cadele i?in Bakanlığının Filistin Y?netimi'ne 300 doz Tamiflu ilacı vereceğini a?ıkladı.

Filistinli ve İsrailli yetkililer, kuş gribinin yayılmasını ?nlemek amacıyla Erez ge?iş noktasında bir araya geldiler. Bu toplantılarda İsrail tarafının, koruyucu giysiler ve hastalıklı k?mes hayvanlarının yok edilmesi i?in gerek duyulan diğer malzemeyi Filistin tarafına vermesi karara bağlandı.

Hastalığın yayılmasının ?nlenmesi i?in bilgi paylaşımında işbirliği ?zerinde de uzlaşıldı. [14:39:00]