Israel fears human transmission amid bird flu outbreak, set to curtail hunting season
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Israel's veterinary service had declared a state of emergency last week after the H5N1 bird flu was found among chickens in the Margaliot area.
After over 2,000 wild cranes were killed due to bird flu in Israel, reports claim authorities have are planning to cancel the hunting season to ensure the outbreak does not spread to humans.
Israel's environmental protection minister Tamar Zandberg said the hunters were asked to stay away since the disease could prove to be "fatal to humans".
Reports had said earlier that at least 1,000 wild cranes were infected as authorities moved to stem the outbreak. Israel's agriculture ministry had said earlier that avian flu was detected among some chicken varieties earlier with infection cases reported in the northern part of the country.
Zandberg added that infection cases detected among cranes was "abnormal" while pointing out that contact between birds and humans needed to be curtailed with a temporary order set to be put in place to ensure the hunting season ends early.
The country's veterinary service had declared a state of emergency last week after the H5N1 bird flu was found among chickens in Margaliot. At least 320,000 hens were killed in the area. The authorities moved quickly to stop the sale of eggs in the area and began an examination of coops.
The authorities had also announced that there would be a shortage of eggs in Israel this month as farmers were told to ensure the infection does not spread to humans.
Reports claim bird flu cases have also been reported in Europe, Asia and Africa recently.
A farm in the Czech Republic culled 80,000 hens after thousands of animals were detected with the disease as reports claim the country has reported at least 48 outbreaks of bird flu this year. France had also reported bird flu cases in the Landes region last week.
(With inputs from Agencies)