Israel detects bird flu at turkey farm

Jerusalem, Nov 29 (IANS) The highly pathogenic bird flu, avian influenza, has been detected in a turkey farm in western Israel, the state's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement.

Following the detection, the Ministry on Monday quarantined all chicken coops within 10 kilometre of the infected coop, located near the village of Beit Herut in the Hefer Valley.

The Ministry also urged the general public to purchase eggs only at regulated sales and marketing places, and to buy only labelled and packaged ones, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Ministry also called on breeders to keep birds indoors to reduce the risk of infection from wild birds.

A previous case of bird flu was detected last week in a turkey coop in northeastern Israel. No epidemiological linkage was found between the two events, according to the Ministry.