Bird flue (archive photo)
Photo: AP
Has bird flu reached Gaza?
300 chickens in northern Gaza die in recent days, but Palestinian Agriculture Ministry says lab tests have not proved bird flu is responsible
Is bird flu approaching Israel? After Iran, India, and Egypt, the virus has been discovered, according to suspicions, in the Gaza Strip.
However, tests conducted thus far on chickens from a farm in northern Gaza, where some 300 fowl were found dead Monday, have not shown any evidence of bird flu, the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry said Monday night.
Earlier Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry declared a state of emergency, suspecting the chickens may have been infected with the lethal disease, which was discovered in nearby Egypt this week. "The state of emergency was declared because the epidemic has been found closer to this area," an Agriculture Ministry spokesperson said.
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Chicken farmer Ahmed Abu Halub told Ynet: "Strange things have happened in my market in recent days. A number of days ago I found 50 dead chickens. Two days ago the number reached 100 chickens, yesterday 150, and the number now is 300."
Abu Halub says he does not know whether it is bird flu or another disease striking down his chickens. "It's not a natural situation, the chickens are not eating and not drinking and they're barely waking."
As someone who raised 6,000 chickens, Abu Halub fears the outbreak of bird flu and its consequences.
The PA has checked a number of outbreaks of the disease, but have not been able to confirm that bird flu is behind the occurrences.
Meital Yasur Beit-Or contributed to this report
