PA : Tulkarem village devastated by bird flu

Via Ma'an News, more on the H5N1 outbreak in the West Bank as reported earlier:

" At least 750,000 chickens will be slaughtered and destroyed in the Tulkarem-area town of Bal'a, as a heavy Palestinian police presence surrounded the area, ensuring area birds diagnosed with bird flu were not transported out.

The village, which exports between 4-5,000 cartons of eggs per day to areas in the West Bank, and hundreds of pounds of meat, will have its poultry stock wiped out following the discovery of bird flu by PA officials from the Ministry of Agriculture.

No human cases of the influenza virus have yet been reported, but officials said they are monitoring the area heavily to ensure proper containment mechanisms are put in place.

A team of veterinary specialists headed by doctors A’zam Tbeila, Jamil Makhamreh, and Ahmad Eid worked with municipal and town officials to assist the residents in dealing with the emergency.

Municipal council leader Bal’a Ahmad Mansur said the situation in the town was tire. "Tension and anxiety are prevailing among the farmers," he said, estimating losses in the millions of sheleks. "At least 40% of the town's economy is in chickens," he added."