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ALBANIA: Albania Confirms Second Case of H5N1 Near Tirana
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=58610
ALBANIA: Albania Confirms Second Case of H5N1 Near Tirana
2006-04-03 14:25:27
The government is working to cull birds and contain public anxiety in light of news that a case of the lethal H5N1 bird flu strain has been found near the capital.
Albania confirmed a second case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu was found in domestic poultry on 22 March, in a village near Tirana. This is the second outbreak of the deadly virus strain in Albania this month. "Final test results from Weybridge Laboratory in London showed that the dead chickens found in the village of Peze-Helmes contain the H5N1 strain of the virus," Albanian Agriculture Minister Jemin Gjana said.
The dead chickens were found in the village of Peze-Helmes on 17 March, 14km west of Tirana. The experts in the infected village also took blood samples for tests from all the inhabitants in the infected village. Local press also reported that dead birds were also found in Berat in the southern part of the country and in Shkodra in the north. With test results still pending, the death of domestic chickens has raised suspicions about the presence of the deadly strain of the virus in these regions.
Albania confirmed its first case of the H5N1 strain in a chicken found in the southern village of Cuke in Saranda district, 50km north of the border with Greece.
The outbreak in Tirana came as the agriculture ministry experts began culling poultry in the village of Cuke in Saranda district. Land within a radius of 3km of the infected village was cordoned off, and a protection zone covering eight villages in the vicinity was set up by the experts.
Albanian Health Minister Maksim Cikuli said that so far there have been no cases of transmission of the virus from poultry to human beings in Cuke. "Epidemiologists are carrying out verifications, and they are closely following the situation there," he said.
After being informed about the country's first H5N1 case, Albanian President Alfred Moisiu and Prime Minister Sali Berisha urged the public not to panic, saying the country would take all necessary action. Berisha and his cabinet members and aides organised a lunch featuring poultry products, in order to demonstrate there is no risk in consuming such foods.
However, opposition leader Edi Rama has accused the government of falling short. "The authorities have not taken the proper measures in order to inform the public regarding the bird flu disease. The virus is being spread kilometre by kilometre and still nothing has been done by the state institutions," Rama said during a visit to Peze-Helmes.
Meanwhile, the World Bank mission in Tirana has confirmed that it will compensate farmers for the cost incurred by the culling of domestic birds. The highly virulent strain of H5N1, which has killed at least 96 people since 2003, mainly in Asia, has been detected in a number of countries surrounding Albania, including Greece, Romania and Serbia.
ALBANIA: Albania Confirms Second Case of H5N1 Near Tirana
2006-04-03 14:25:27
The government is working to cull birds and contain public anxiety in light of news that a case of the lethal H5N1 bird flu strain has been found near the capital.
Albania confirmed a second case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu was found in domestic poultry on 22 March, in a village near Tirana. This is the second outbreak of the deadly virus strain in Albania this month. "Final test results from Weybridge Laboratory in London showed that the dead chickens found in the village of Peze-Helmes contain the H5N1 strain of the virus," Albanian Agriculture Minister Jemin Gjana said.
The dead chickens were found in the village of Peze-Helmes on 17 March, 14km west of Tirana. The experts in the infected village also took blood samples for tests from all the inhabitants in the infected village. Local press also reported that dead birds were also found in Berat in the southern part of the country and in Shkodra in the north. With test results still pending, the death of domestic chickens has raised suspicions about the presence of the deadly strain of the virus in these regions.
Albania confirmed its first case of the H5N1 strain in a chicken found in the southern village of Cuke in Saranda district, 50km north of the border with Greece.
The outbreak in Tirana came as the agriculture ministry experts began culling poultry in the village of Cuke in Saranda district. Land within a radius of 3km of the infected village was cordoned off, and a protection zone covering eight villages in the vicinity was set up by the experts.
Albanian Health Minister Maksim Cikuli said that so far there have been no cases of transmission of the virus from poultry to human beings in Cuke. "Epidemiologists are carrying out verifications, and they are closely following the situation there," he said.
After being informed about the country's first H5N1 case, Albanian President Alfred Moisiu and Prime Minister Sali Berisha urged the public not to panic, saying the country would take all necessary action. Berisha and his cabinet members and aides organised a lunch featuring poultry products, in order to demonstrate there is no risk in consuming such foods.
However, opposition leader Edi Rama has accused the government of falling short. "The authorities have not taken the proper measures in order to inform the public regarding the bird flu disease. The virus is being spread kilometre by kilometre and still nothing has been done by the state institutions," Rama said during a visit to Peze-Helmes.
Meanwhile, the World Bank mission in Tirana has confirmed that it will compensate farmers for the cost incurred by the culling of domestic birds. The highly virulent strain of H5N1, which has killed at least 96 people since 2003, mainly in Asia, has been detected in a number of countries surrounding Albania, including Greece, Romania and Serbia.