Chickens being culled due to virus last year (archive)
Photo: Reuters
There is no fear that the chicken coops of in a southern Israel
kibbutz have been infected with the bird flu virus, Dr Moshe Haimovitch, head of the national Veterinary Services, said Friday.
In light of the alarming results, additional tests were taken, and the henhouses were quarantined Thursday morning.
Sample tests conducted Thursday by the Health Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry and the Veterinary Services revealed that the bird flu virus may have infected the chicken coops of Kibbutz Grofit in the Arava region.
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Dr Moshe Haimovitch, head of the national Veterinary Services, told Ynet on Thursday, "We are currently conducting peripheral tests that are part of sample tests done in a bid to map the country, in compliance with international requirements.
"When we receive a suspicious result, we run the test again, this has happened many times before, and is only being done for safety reasons."
The bird flu epidemic, which broke out in many areas across the world in recent years, arrived in Israel in March 2006. Millions of hens were culled following three separate outbreaks throughout the month, in order to stop the epidemic from spreading.