Israel suspects journalists of spreading bird flu
AFP
Date: 03-31-06
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel suspects journalists, particularly press photographers, of being behind the spread of deadly bird flu in the Jewish state, an agriculture ministry official told AFP.
"It's one of our working hypotheses," the official said, asking not be identified.
"Bird flu can be transmitted on clothing, footwear, the wheels of cars and even on cameras," the official added.
"The journalists who came to cover the outbreak then went back to homes and offices across the country.
"Even if the required protective measures were taken, it is impossible to disinfect photographic equipment without damaging it."
The appearance of bird flu on a string of farms across Israel during March forced the culling of 1.2 million poultry, at a total cost, including compensation, of some 24 million shekels (five million dollars).
The agriculture ministry had declared the all-clear last Sunday after that initial flurry of attacks.
But two more cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu have been confirmed in the past three days -- one at Maale Hamsha near Jerusalem and one at Kerem Shalom near the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians have confirmed the deadly strain in poultry in the territory too.
The World Health Organization issued an urgent appeal earlier this month for Israel and the international community to provide the Palestinians with assistance in fighting it but the issue has been complicated by the swearing-in on Wednesday of a first ever government led by Islamic militants.
Israel has halted all exports of poultry in the face of the bird flu outbreak. The European Union has placed a ban on imports from Israel.
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