Israel finds H5N1 in birds on two farms

By Yehuda Peretz

BEERSHEBA, Israel (Reuters) – Israel detected its first
cases of H5N1 bird flu on Friday, saying the virus had killed
thousands of turkeys and chickens on two farms.

Israeli authorities treated four people in hospital amid
fears they had the virus, but Israeli media reported late on
Friday the Health Ministry said none of the four poultry
workers were suffering from bird flu.

Serbia said three children and a teenager from a bird flu
affected area were in hospital after developing fever and
flu-like symptoms.

Bird flu has spread with alarming speed in recent weeks
across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, stoking fears the
virus could mutate into a form that could easily pass from one
person to another, triggering a pandemic in which millions
could die.

Three people who worked in poultry coops at Israeli farms
where the virus was discovered were admitted to isolation units
at Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba.

A fourth worker who had also been in contact with turkeys
at a farm about 70 km (45 miles) further north near the town of
Kiryat Gat was admitted to hospital in Ashkelon.

Two farms were confirmed to have infected poultry. Tests
were being carried out on another two farms where H5N1 is
suspected.

Agriculture Ministry officials said that starting on Sunday
morning, tens of thousands of fowl in the infected areas and
their surroundings would be culled and that the carcasses would
be buried in underground pits.

In a rare act of cooperation, Israel was also testing dead
fowl found in the West Bank and Gaza on behalf of the
Palestinian Authority to try to control the spread of the
virus.

SERBIAN CHILDREN

The four youngsters in hospital in Serbia come from a
southwestern area close to the Bosnian border, where there was
a suspected case of the deadly H5N1 strain in a cockerel.

“Three children were admitted to hospital today displaying
symptoms of respiratory infection,” Serbia’s chief
epidemiologist Predrag Kon told Reuters.

“Two of them have signs of a viral infection. All three are
coming from the outbreak zone and came into contact with
infected poultry.”

A teenager put into isolation on Thursday after developing
fever was also moved to hospital.

Although it is hard to catch, people can contract bird flu
after coming into contact with infected birds. The World Health
Organization (WHO) says at least 98 people have died from H5N1
so far.

Three women who died in Azerbaijan recently are also
thought to be bird flu victims, but the WHO is awaiting the
results of further tests before confirming the cause of deaths.

The risk of human infection means people must wear
protective clothing when culling birds in areas where H5N1 has
broken out.

In Afghanistan, where bird flu was confirmed on Thursday, a
lack of protective suits is delaying efforts to stop its
spread, an Agriculture Ministry official said.

In further evidence of bird flu continuing to spread,
Sweden confirmed it had found the H5 virus in a duck on a game
farm in the east of the country, the European Union said.

Bird flu has shaken poultry markets around the world as
consumers have lost their appetites for chicken, with some
countries reporting a drop in sales of up to 70 percent.

The EU banned poultry imports from Israel after the
discovery of H5N1 there, the EU’s executive Commission said.

(For more stories, pictures and video on bird flu see

http://today.reuters.com/News/GlobalCoverage.aspx?type=globalNew

s) (Additional reporting by Asian and European bureaux)