AVIAN INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE ENDS FOLLOWING CONFIRMED CASES

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000349 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR OES/ENV AND NEA/IAI AND NEA/RA INTERIOR PASS FISH AND WILDLIFE USDA FOR APHIS AND FAS BRUSSELS FOR APHIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFLU TBIO EAGR ETRD USTR IS KWBG SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE ENDS FOLLOWING CONFIRMED CASES AT PETTING ZOO REF: STATE 250 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (U) Following the January 3, 2008 confirmation of H5N1 in birds at a Petting Zoo in Benyamina, GOI Ministry of Agriculture instituted surveillance zones at three and ten kilometers, as noted reftel. The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that this surveillance ended on February 2, 2008. Other than the initial cases at the zoo, there were no further cases in birds reported. ¶2. (U) Within the three-kilometer radius, two small flocks (4800) of "table egg layer" chickens were culled, even though they tested negative for H5N1. This farmer has been compensated for his loss of 'egg layers'. ¶3. (SBU) Also within the three-kilometer radius, there was one farm that housed grand-parent stock of chickens (previous reporting erroneously called these turkey stock). This is the first generation, and the most sensitive, expensive and difficult to replace in the line of production. Culling this stock could have caused a shortage of chicken meat in 12-18 months. For these reasons, special dispensation was granted to that farm within the 3-kilometer radius. Rather than cull the birds immediately, they were tested every 72 hours for H5N1, until it was determined that they were no longer a threat for Avian Influenza. ¶4. (U) Lastly, there were approximately 1000 'back yard' birds that were culled. The owners of these birds have not yet received financial compensation. In total, 5800 birds were culled in Israel. JONES