Two thousand wild birds die of bird flu in Israel
An outbreak of bird flu has killed more than 2,000 wild cranes in a reserve in northern Israel, an unusually high number due to seasonal flu, the Nature and Parks Authority said Sunday.
In addition to this death, it is believed that another 10,000 birds have contracted the virus, Ohad Hatzofi, an expert with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, told AFP.
Uri Naveh, a prominent scientist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, explained that the virus strikes Israel every year, but the outbreak of the disease this year is much greater than in previous years.
He described the number of dead birds as "exceptional".
Each year, about 100,000 wild cranes have arrived in Israel since October, and it is estimated that more than 40,000 of them remain in the area.
H5N1 bird flu was detected in some flocks of chickens in northern Israel, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The ministry stopped selling eggs from affected farms.
The H5N1 virus rarely spreads between humans, but outbreaks have been recorded in the past.
According to the World Health Organization, the H5N1 virus has killed more than 450 people, mostly in Indonesia, Egypt and Vietnam, since 2003.
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