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Bird flu alert in Saudi Arabia
From Habib Shaikh (Our correspondent)
15 March 2007
JEDDAH ? Saudi authorities have declared an emergency aimed at preventing an outbreak of bird flu in the country, according to Muhammad bin Abdullah Al Sheiha, assistant deputy agriculture minister for animal resources affairs.
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?The Ministry of Agriculture is naturally in a state of emergency to confront this disease,? said Al Sheiha. <o:p></o:p>
?We have taken all precautions against bird flu and have set up an operations room that works round the clock,? he added. <o:p></o:p>
He said no bird flu cases had so far been reported in the Kingdom. The ministry has carried out mock operations at a number of poultry farms in various parts of the country including Riyadh, Asir, Baha, the Eastern Province, Qasim and others. <o:p></o:p>
?We are in close contact with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) officials who monitor the movement of the contagious disease. We have also conducted a survey of poultry farms across the country and are monitoring migratory birds which pass through the Kingdom. We have taken measures to contain the disease in case of any outbreak,? Al Sheiha said.<o:p></o:p>
It may be recalled that 52 cases of the infectious disease were reported in neighbouring Kuwait, and a team of experts from the OIE visited the emirate where authorities said that the number of bird flu cases in the emirate had risen to 52. <o:p></o:p>
The H5N1 strain, the most aggressive form, has killed more than 160 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation, and has been responsible for the destruction of millions of birds. <o:p></o:p>
Al Sheiha said the ministry had requested additional financial allocations to carry out further precautionary measures. <o:p></o:p>
?We have allocated SR15 million for the purpose,? he added. <o:p></o:p>
Meanwhile, Soliman H Al-Buthi, general manager of the general environmental health department at Riyadh Municipality, said that the civic body has launched an exclusive web site. Al Buthi explained that the web site is aimed at educating people about bird flu and what precautions a person should take in case he/she suspects the disease in birds. The web site in Arabic is http://www.alriyadh.gov.sa/bird/index.asp.
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From Habib Shaikh (Our correspondent)
15 March 2007
JEDDAH ? Saudi authorities have declared an emergency aimed at preventing an outbreak of bird flu in the country, according to Muhammad bin Abdullah Al Sheiha, assistant deputy agriculture minister for animal resources affairs.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
?The Ministry of Agriculture is naturally in a state of emergency to confront this disease,? said Al Sheiha. <o:p></o:p>
?We have taken all precautions against bird flu and have set up an operations room that works round the clock,? he added. <o:p></o:p>
He said no bird flu cases had so far been reported in the Kingdom. The ministry has carried out mock operations at a number of poultry farms in various parts of the country including Riyadh, Asir, Baha, the Eastern Province, Qasim and others. <o:p></o:p>
?We are in close contact with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) officials who monitor the movement of the contagious disease. We have also conducted a survey of poultry farms across the country and are monitoring migratory birds which pass through the Kingdom. We have taken measures to contain the disease in case of any outbreak,? Al Sheiha said.<o:p></o:p>
It may be recalled that 52 cases of the infectious disease were reported in neighbouring Kuwait, and a team of experts from the OIE visited the emirate where authorities said that the number of bird flu cases in the emirate had risen to 52. <o:p></o:p>
The H5N1 strain, the most aggressive form, has killed more than 160 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation, and has been responsible for the destruction of millions of birds. <o:p></o:p>
Al Sheiha said the ministry had requested additional financial allocations to carry out further precautionary measures. <o:p></o:p>
?We have allocated SR15 million for the purpose,? he added. <o:p></o:p>
Meanwhile, Soliman H Al-Buthi, general manager of the general environmental health department at Riyadh Municipality, said that the civic body has launched an exclusive web site. Al Buthi explained that the web site is aimed at educating people about bird flu and what precautions a person should take in case he/she suspects the disease in birds. The web site in Arabic is http://www.alriyadh.gov.sa/bird/index.asp.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayA...middleeast&col=