Poultry carcasses buried in Ein Hashlosha
Photo: AFP
Olmert: No need to panic over bird flu
Acting PM says Israel prepared to deal with deadly virus, adds government team will discuss compensations to farmers. Health minister states no further emergency measures on the agenda at present
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a cabinet meeting Sunday that a special team will be formed within several days to address the question of compensations to poultry farmers affected by the bird flu virus.
Virus Spreads
Meital Yasur Beit-Or
Fighting bird flu: About 70,000 birds culled at two southern kibbutzim on Saturday; the killing of more than 300,000 chickens by poison to get under way at two more communities
According to Olmert, Israel is prepared to handle the virus and there is no need to panic. "We are looking into ways to prevent the spread of the disease and its harm to humans," he said.
Health Minister Jacob Edery said that despite the bird flu virus outbreak across the Middle East, he has no intentions of taking any further emergency measures on the matter at this stage. "We are evaluating the situation every day and will act accordingly," Edery told Ynet.
Following Sunday's cabinet meeting, Edery and his Ministry's officials will tour the Holit and Ein Hashlosha kibbutzim where the virus has been identified.
The operation to exterminate poultry in areas in Israel infected with the deadly bird flu virus went into high gear Sunday. During the morning, poison has been inserted to the drinking waters at the henhouses of kibbutz Nachshon and the community of Sdeh Moshe, in order to eliminate turkeys.
According to Agriculture Ministry instructions, the culling of birds will also be carried out in communities located at a three-kilometer radius from places where the virus was identified. As a result, the poultry in the kibbutzim of Nirim and Kissufim, where no bird flu was found, will also have to be exterminated Sunday.
Workers refuse to show up
The efforts to eliminate and clear the birds' carcasses from the kibbutzim of Holit and Ein Hashlosha have encountered some delays, due to a lack of manpower. The contractor in charge of clearing the henhouses in the area Yariv Oshri explained most of his workers simply refused to show up for work. He said that out of 30 employees. Only 6 Thai laborers came this morning.
"The Israelis refuse to come to work, as do the Bedouins. We have been working for 48 hours and my guys are collapsing. If we don’t get a permit to hire more foreign workers, we'll have to stop works by this evening," Oshri warned.
Thousands of turkeys have been exterminated so far using poison inserted to their drinking water. The cadavers are buried in 6-meter deep holes, wrapped in plastic and covered with layers of lime. However, on Saturday evening, before the culling operation was underway, infected poultry carcasses have been piled in open fields near the henhouses. Health officials fear that as a result the virus may have been further transferred through vultures circling above.
The source of the infection remains unclear at present, but health official believe it may be a slaughterhouse in the town of Kiryat Malachi. Consequently, the Health Ministry ordered that the slaughterhouse undergo disinfection.
Anat Bershkovsky contributed to the report
