Shehayyeb: H5N1 Infected Zone is Contained, Kept under Supervision

Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb assured on Sunday that the an area detected with an H5N1 bird flu virus in al-Nabi sheet has been put under supervision, An Nahar daily reported.

“The area where the virus was detected has been controlled,” he told the daily in an interview.

“We are keeping an eye on it and have placed it under a 72-hour supervision,” he emphasized.

On Thursday, Shehayyeb said that the virus has been detected in one of the poultry farms in al-Nabi Sheet in Baalbek and that the ministry has kicked off efforts to prevent full-fledged epidemic.

Reports said that an outbreak was detected in ten poultry farms including al-Nabi Sheet and that the area was said to be declared an infected zone.

Some precautionary measures were taken including getting rid of birds that could be infected with the virus.

H5N1 is a type of influenza virus that causes a highly infectious, severe respiratory disease in birds called avian influenza.

Human cases of H5N1 occur occasionally, but it is difficult to transmit the infection from person to person.

The ministry has also banned the farmers from sending any of its poultry out of the town as a precautionary measure to contain any potential spread of the virus.

Related authorities carried out field inspection in villages neighboring al-Nabi Sheet including Sareein, Hor Taala, al-Khodr and al-Khraybeh, reports said.