Bahrain bans poultry imports from Saudi Arabia over bird flu

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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=533 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=mainnewstitle id=withoutphoto vAlign=center colSpan=3>Bahrain bans poultry imports from Saudi Arabia over bird flu


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ABU DHABI (UAE), November 17 (RIA Novosti) - Bahrain has imposed a ban on all live poultry imports from Saudi Arabia following a recent outbreak of bird flu in the country, a local newspaper reported Saturday.
The Saudi Agriculture Ministry announced Friday that it had culled over 90,000 birds after a deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was detected at two poultry farms in Al-Kharj, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the capital, Riyadh.
Akhbar al-Khaleej newspaper, based in Manama, said Bahrain introduced strict control over Saudi poultry imports to prevent the spread of the deadly virus in the kingdom.
Qatar has earlier announced the same restrictions on Saudi poultry imports.
The latest outbreak of avian influenza was registered in Saudi Arabia in March. No human cases have been reported in the outbreak.
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has claimed over 200 human lives since it was first registered in Southeast Asia in 2003.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20071117/88509329.html

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Re: Bahrain bans poultry imports from Saudi Arabia over bird flu

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=title width="100%">Bahrain 'is safe from bird flu' </TD></TR><TR><TD class=body vAlign=top width="100%"> By REBECCA TORR

<!--body text-->BAHRAIN's top vet said yesterday there was no reason to panic after the country banned imports of birds from Saudi Arabia.
It followed an outbreak of bird flu at a farm near Riyadh, which prompted authorities there to cull 50,000 birds.
The virus was also detected at two other farms near the capital and around 90,000 chickens had to be culled, but there were no reports of the disease spreading to humans.
However, Municipalities and Agriculture Ministry's animal wealth director Dr Salman Abdul Nabi Ebrahim said yesterday there was no cause for alarm in Bahrain. "If any country has an outbreak of bird flu we ban imports of live birds immediately - that's why we have banned entrance of these birds from Saudi Arabia," he said.
"We take this outbreak seriously and have a big team involved in ensuring that we remain free from bird flu.
"We have people at the causeway working with immigration to make sure no live birds come across."
Dr Ebrahim said Bahrain was conducting research and investigations into bird flu on a daily basis to ensure the country remained safe.
He said a team regularly tested birds at poultry farms and advised farmers about the symptoms of avian influenza.
"Bahrain should be worried because any kind of leak will be dangerous, but we try to fill any gaps," he told the GDN.
"We monitor all birds, poultry farms and markets and take blood or faeces samples from migratory birds.
"These birds start to go from north to south, so we have to monitor them at the seaside and on beaches.
"Up till now Bahrain doesn't have bird flu, but we have to continue researching all the time. If we control all these matters Bahrain will stay safe."
Poultry
He also said there was no need for people to stop buying poultry in Bahrain.
"We have a national committee to prevent Bahrain from avian influenza and we have all the measures in place so there is no need for people to worry," he said.
Health Ministry communicable diseases department head Dr Muna Al Mousawi told the GDN last week that Bahrain had re-activated its bird flu programme since there was a greater risk of the virus coming to the country in the winter.
That is because of increased migration of birds from colder countries, as well as the virus's ability to thrive during the winter. A special ward was established in March to handle possible bird flu patients and the 18-bed isolation ward at Salmaniya Medical Complex is staffed by four nurses, two chest physicians, two intravenous specialists and two intensive care specialists, who are on duty on a rotation basis.
The ministry has also stockpiled enough anti-flu medication (anti-viral drugs) to treat 25 per cent of its adult population, which is more than the five per cent requirement of the World Health Organisation. becky@gdn.com.bh http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story...&IssueID=30243
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Re: Bahrain bans poultry imports from Saudi Arabia over bird flu

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Gulf States Ban Saudi Poultry
Galal Fakkar, Arab News</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>JEDDAH, 19 November 2007 ? A recent decision by several Gulf countries to ban the import of poultry products from Saudi Arabia may cause huge losses to Saudi farmers and exporters, said Riza Al-Naghmoush, a poultry farmer in the Eastern Province.
Kuwait and United Arab Emirates said they have imposed the ban following bird flu reports in the Kingdom. According to a source at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Manama is expected to follow suit.
?The ban on the import of Saudi poultry products in the Gulf would mean huge losses to Saudi farmers and exporters, particularly if the ban remains in place for a longer period,? said Al-Naghmoush.
Saudi Arabia annually exports 10,000 tons of poultry products to the UAE and Yemen.
Meanwhile, Sultan Al-Fohaid, director of customs at the Al-Khafji border, said on Saturday that his office had not registered any trucks carrying Saudi poultry being refused entry into Kuwait.
?We have not received any official notification about the ban from Kuwaiti officials and will assume that the ban has been implemented when trucks are turned away from the border,? he said.
Topping the list of poultry producers in the Gulf and Arab region, farmers in the Kingdom last year sold 525,000 tons of broiler chickens worth SR42 billion to both domestic and foreign markets, and produced 3.13 billion eggs (worth SR1.45 billion) in the same period.
More than 480,000 tons of poultry products, accounting for 75 percent of the country?s total requirements, are locally manufactured. The remaining 320,000 tons are imported from Brazil, France, America and China.
The King Khaled Hospital in Al-Kharj, meanwhile, is treating a man showing symptoms of the illness.
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http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=103726&d=19&m=11&y=2007