April 6, 2006

Jordan begins culling poultry to prevent bird flu

Jordan began culling 50,000 birds in poultry farms along its western border Wednesday (Apr 5) in case bird flu has entered the country from Israel, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

Ministry spokesman Faisal Al-Awawdeh said the cull was taking place in the valley of the River Jordan, which separates Jordan from the West Bank and Israel--where bird flu was detected late last month.

The culling is "a precaution to prevent the spread of bird flu to the Jordanian side of the valley," Al-Awawdeh said.

Twelve days ago the government sent notices to valley residents urging them to eat their backyard chickens and turkeys or risk having them killed.

Jordan said Mar 24 that bird flu had been detected in turkeys in a village near Ajloun, 75 kilometres (47 miles) north of the capital Amman. The authorities promptly destroyed about 13,500 birds within a three-kilometre (2-mile) radius of the village.