Israel detects bird flu outbreak near the Lebanese border

Israel has detected an outbreak of the pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza at a northern chicken farm, the state's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement on Sunday.

The bird flu has spread in egg-laying hen coops in the village of Margaliot near the Lebanese border, the ministry noted. The flu was revealed after increased mortality of chickens in the farm and samplings examined in a lab.

BIRD FLU

The ministry isolated the farm, which include 244 thousand chickens, stopped egg marketing from it, and conducted tests at other nearby coop farms. The coops in the area market about six million eggs a month, out of about 200 million eggs consumed every month in Israel.

H5N1 bird flu can also infect other animals, such as pigs, cats, and tigers, and in rare cases humans as well. The first symptoms of bird flu in humans are usually severe respiratory illness and fever.

FIRSTLY DETECTED AT HULA VALLEY

Cases of H5N1 bird flu have recently been discovered in coops in northern and southern Israel. On Thursday, the ministry reported dozens of wild cranes infected with H5N1, detected in the northeastern Hula Valley.