November 27, 2007

More cases of bird flu in Saudi

More cases of bird flu have been found in Saudi Arabia just weeks before 2 million Muslims flock to Mecca for the annual haj pilgrimage.

The Ministry of Agriculture announced that all birds at the farm of al-Kharj, 150 kilometre south of Riyadh, were culled on Thursday after the H5N1 strain was found.

Earlier this month, Saudi authorities killed 50,000 birds in al-Kharj after 1,500 birds died of unspecified causes. Inspection teams have since then culled thousands more at markets around the capital.

According to the World Health Organisation, bird flu virus caused more than 200 deaths in humans globally since 2003.

The Saudi government said it has large stocks of Tamiflu anti-flu tablets in case the virus spreads to humans.