November 19, 2007

Suspected bird flu in Saudi kills 90,000 chickens

Around 90,000 chickens died at two farms in Saudi Arabia following the government's announcement of culling 50,000 birds due to suspected outbreak of bird flu in the area.

Agriculture Minister Fahd Balghnaim did not confirm that bird flu was indeed the cause of death. However, the death occurred one day after 50,000 birds were culled at a poultry farm in Al-Khari, 80 kilometres south of Riyad where the deadly H5N1 strain was first detected.

Balghnaim said that around 50,000 chickens died at a farm in Al-Mazahmiyah, about 80 kilometres west of the capital and 40,000 at another nearby farm.

After this announcement, UAE banned the import of live fowl and poultry products from Saudi Arabia for an indefinite period. 

UAE minister for environment and water Dr Mohammad Saeed Al Kindi, said that the ban will stay in place until it becomes certain that the situation in Saudi has normalised.

March this year, Saudi Arabia discovered H5N1 in peacocks, turkeys, ostriches and parrots at a house east of the kingdom. Some unspecified number of birds were culled in the area that time.

H5N1 first emerged in Asia in 2003, causing the deaths of 205 humans, with Indonesia and Vietnam reporting the most numbers of casualties.