Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

[Gert van der Hoek]

Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

Published: Aug. 23, 2007 at 10:27 AM

JERUSALEM, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Israeli agricultural officials quarantined poultry at a kibbutz in southern Israel until "suspicious" avian flu test results have been analyzed.

Dr. Moshe Haimovitch, head of the national Veterinary Services, told Ynetnews results of whether the H5N1 virus is present won't be known until Friday.

"We are currently conducting peripheral tests that are part of sample tests done in a bid to map the country, in compliance with international requirements," Haimovitch said. "When we receive a suspicious result, we run the test again. This has happened many times before and is only being done for safety reasons."

First reported in Southeast Asia in 1997, the disease first appeared in Israel in March 2006, and the country has since ordered three different culls of poultry since, the report said.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/08/23/fear_of_bird_flu_in_southern_israel/6615/

 

[HenryN]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

Bird flu feared in southern kibbutz

Suspicious test results indicate chickens may have been infected with deadly virus at Kibbutz Grofit
Ahuva Mamus

<STYLE>P{margin:0;} UL{margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;margin-right: 16; padding-right:0;} OL{margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;margin-right: 32; padding-right:0;} P.pHeader {margin-bottom:3px;COLOR: #192862;font-size: 16px;font-weight: bold;}</STYLE><SCRIPT>var agt=navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase();var is_major = parseInt(navigator.appVersion);var is_ie = ((agt.indexOf("msie") != -1) && (agt.indexOf("opera") == -1));var is_ie5 = (is_ie && (is_major == 4) && (agt.indexOf("msie 5.0")!=-1) ); function txt_link(type,url,urlAtts) { switch (type){ case 'external' : if( urlAtts != '' ) {var x = window.open(unescape(url),'newWin',urlAtts)} else {document.location = unescape(url);} break; case 'article' : urlStr = '/articles/0,7340,L-to_replace,00.html';url=urlStr.replace('to_replace',url); if( urlAtts == '' || !urlAtts) {document.location = url;} else {var x = window.open(url,'newWin',urlAtts)} break; case 'yaan' : urlStr = '/yaan/0,7340,L-to_replace,00.html';url=urlStr.replace('to_replace',url); if( urlAtts == '' || !urlAtts) {document.location = url;} else {var x = window.open(url,'newWin',urlAtts)} break; case 'category' : urlStr = '/home/0,7340,L-to_replace,00.html'; url=urlStr.replace('to_replace',url); if( urlAtts == '' || !urlAtts) {document.location = url;} else {var x = window.open(url,'newWin',urlAtts)} break; } } function setDbLinkCategory(url) {eval(unescape(url));}</SCRIPT></B>Sample tests conducted by the Health Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry and the Veterinary Services revealed that the bird flu virus may have infected the chicken coops of Kibbutz Grofit in the Arava region in southern Israel.


In light of the alarming results, additional tests were taken, and the henhouses were quarantined until final results arrive Friday morning.


Dr Moshe Haimovitch, head of the national Veterinary Services, told Ynet, "We are currently conducting peripheral tests that are part of sample tests done in a bid to map the country, in compliance with international requirements.

"When we receive a suspicious result, we run the test again, this has happened many times before, and is only being done for safety reasons."


The bird flu epidemic, which broke out in many areas across the world in recent years, arrived in Israel in March 2006. Millions of hens were culled following three separate outbreaks throughout the month, in order to stop the epidemic from spreading.

http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3441163,00.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

Bird Flu Found in Arava Kibbutz
<SCRIPT language=javascript>if (sLinkData != "") document.write("Edit");</SCRIPT>

(IsraelNN.com) A blood test revealed a non-virulent strand of bird flu on Thursday in chickens belonging to Kibbutz Grufit, located in the Arava desert north of Eilat. Kibbutz workers said the chickens had not suffered an unusually high mortality rate, and that the birds had shown no symptoms of the illness. Government workers took more blood samples, the results of which will be known on Friday.
The virus was found in Israel in 2006 as well, in birds in the Lachish region and in villages in and around Gaza. Israeli officials worked with members of the Palestinian Authority to stop the spread of the virus. All chickens in the affected areas were killed.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/132139

 

[HenryN]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=556 border=0 valign="top"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD vAlign=top width=2 bgColor=white></TD><TD vAlign=top width=554><!-- start: main content --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" summary="" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left><INPUT onclick="javascript:this.disabled=true; doSubmit('Back');" type=button value=Back></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE summary=""><TBODY><TR><TD noWrap align=right>Archive Number</TD><TD noWrap align=left>20070823.2760</TD></TR><TR><TD noWrap align=right>Published Date</TD><TD noWrap align=left>23-AUG-2007</TD></TR><TR><TD noWrap align=right>Subject</TD><TD noWrap align=left>PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza (143): Israel (S. Arava), susp.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

AVIAN INFLUENZA (143): ISRAEL (SOUTH ARAVA), SUSPECTED
******************************************************
A ProMED-mail post<http://www.promedmail.org>ProMED-mail is a program of theInternational Society for Infectious Diseases<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Thu 23 Aug 2007Source: Ynet News [edited]<http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3441163,00.html>
Suspicious test results indicate chickens may have been infected with deadly virus at Kibbutz Grofit. Sample tests conducted by the Health Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, and the Veterinary Services revealed that the bird flu virus might have infected the chicken coops of Kibbutz Grofit in the Arava region in southern Israel.In light of the alarming results, additional tests were taken, and the henhouses were quarantined until final results arrive Friday [24 Aug 2007] morning.Dr Moshe Haimovitch, head of the national Veterinary Services, told Ynet, "We are currently conducting peripheral tests that are part of sample tests done in a bid to map the country, in compliance with international requirements."When we receive a suspicious result, we run the test again, this has happened many times before, and is only being done for safety reasons."The bird flu epidemic, which broke out in many areas across the world in recent years, arrived in Israel in March 2006. Millions of hens were culled following 3 separate outbreaks throughout the month, in order to stop the epidemic from spreading.[Byline: Ahuva Mamus]--Communicated byroMED-mail<promed@promedmail.org>
[For the location of Grofit, in the arid, scarcely populated Arava in southern Israel, click square 19 in the interactive map at<http://www.eyeonisrael.com/Israel-touring-map.html> (x=525.95; y=213).
It is situated within the Jordan rift valley, a part of the Afro-Syrian rift, less than 1 km (0.6 mi) from the Jordanian border and about 22 km (13.7 mi) from the Egyptian one.
Since no clinical disease is mentioned in the newswire, hopefully this is not a case of HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza); laboratory results are expected very soon. - Mod.AS]
[see also:2006----Avian influenza (135): OIE (RO, IL, IN, NE, CN) 20060610.1621
Avian influenza - worldwide (73): Europe, Israel 20060331.0979
Avian influenza - worldwide (67): Serbia, Middle East 20060327.0935]
...................................
arn/mj/dk
</PRE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

Bird Flu Found in Arava Kibbutz
<SCRIPT language=javascript>if (sLinkData != "") document.write("Edit");</SCRIPT>

(IsraelNN.com) A blood test revealed a non-virulent strand of bird flu on Thursday in chickens belonging to Kibbutz Grufit, located in the Arava desert north of Eilat. Kibbutz workers said the chickens had not suffered an unusually high mortality rate, and that the birds had shown no symptoms of the illness. Government workers took more blood samples, the results of which will be known on Friday.
The virus was found in Israel in 2006 as well, in birds in the Lachish region and in villages in and around Gaza. Israeli officials worked with members of the Palestinian Authority to stop the spread of the virus. All chickens in the affected areas were killed.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/132139

Comment: the outbreak last year was not a "non virulant strand", but H5N1 wasn?t it?

 

[HenryN]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

Comment: the outbreak last year was not a "non virulant strand", but H5N1 wasn´t it?

Yes, the H5N1 in Israel/Gaza was virtually identical to the H5N1 in Egypt/Djibouti.

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05100701/H5N1_Israel_Gaza.html

Both Egypt and Djibouti had human cases in 2006. Israel had a patient that was said to be positive in 2005 (just prior to the detection of H5N1 in a teal in the Nile Delta), but when he recovered, the bird flu diagnosis "disppeared".

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/11250501/H5N1_Israel_S227N.html

 

[Snowy Owl]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

Bird Flu Found in Arava Kibbutz
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/132139
​

<script language="javascript">if (sLinkData != "") document.write("Edit");</script>
(IsraelNN.com)



A blood test revealed a non-virulent strand of bird flu on Thursday in chickens belonging to Kibbutz Grufit, located in the Arava desert north of Eilat.



Kibbutz workers said the chickens had not suffered an unusually high mortality rate, and that the birds had shown no symptoms of the illness. Government workers took more blood samples, the results of which will be known on Friday.


The virus was found in Israel in 2006 as well, in birds in the Lachish region and in villages in and around Gaza.



Israeli officials worked with members of the Palestinian Authority to stop the spread of the virus. All chickens in the affected areas were killed.

 

[Theresa42]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

The Arava region is at the southern tip of Israel, bordering Jordan on the west and Egypt (the Sinai peninsula) on the east. The Gulf of Aqaba (an extension of the Red Sea) is to the south:

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

Veterinary Services: No bird flu found in Kibbutz Grofit

Published: 08.24.07, 08:44 / Israel News

Dr Moshe Haimovitch, head of the national Veterinary Services, reported on Friday that there was no fear that the chicken coops of Kibbutz Grofit were infected with the bird flu virus.

The coops were quarantined Thursday morning and tested for the virus after sample test showed they were at risk.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3441388,00.html

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Fear of bird flu in southern Israel

Date: Fri 24 Aug 2007
Source: Ynet News [edited]
<http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3441163,00.html>


No bird flu found in southern Israel kibbutz
--------------------------------------------
Tests conducted by Veterinary Services show coops in Kibbutz Grofit
quarantined Thursday [23 Aug 2007] not at risk.

There is no fear that the chicken coops of in a southern Israel
kibbutz have been infected with the bird flu virus, Dr Moshe
Haimovitch, head of the national Veterinary Services, said Friday [24
Aug 2007].

[Byline: Ahuva Mamus]

--
Communicated by:
Naomi Bryant
Information Officer
National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC)
United Kingdom
<naomi.bryant@uclh.nhs.uk>

[Israel's last outbreak of HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza)
H5N1 was resolved on 23 Jul 2006; see summary, including final report
to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and map at
<http://www.oie.int/wahid-prod/public.php?page=event_summary&this_country_code=ISR&reportid=1112>.
Mod. AS]:tiphat:

http://tinyurl.com/35xgff