Israel culls more chickens suspected of bird flu

JERUSALEM, Mar 29, (Reuters) Israel has begun to cull 29,000 chickens suspected of contracting the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus at a collective farm outside Jerusalem, an official today said.

The outbreak is the second in Israel this month and came days after officials said an earlier incidence of the disease at six collective farms had been contained by the culling of 1.2 million chickens and turkeys in its southern region.

Dafna Yurista, a spokeswoman for Israel's Agriculture Ministry, said that poultry at the Maaleh Hahamisha farm had been quarantined and poisoned since Tuesday evening when initial tests showed some of the birds had contracted the virus.

Israeli Agriculture Minister Zeev Boim said on Sunday that the virus had been eradicated in southern Israel and the cabinet approved a 1.2 million shekel compensation package for the farmers.

Boim had also cautioned of another outbreak of the virus as new cases had been detected in neighbouring Egypt, Jordan and the Gaza Strip.

The H5N1 virus has rippled out from Asia to West Asia Europe and Africa in recent months, with migratory birds seen as the main culprits in spreading bird flu.

Experts fear the virus will mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person, sparking a pandemic in which millions could die.

Bird flu can infect people who come into close contact with infected poultry and has killed more than 100 people since late 2003.

REUTERS SY HT1640