RIYADH, 25 October 2005 — Senior agricultural officials from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have decided to conduct surveys of the bird and poultry populations and implement an early-warning system as part of a strategy to combat bird flu.
Following an emergency meeting of GCC officials yesterday, the member states also agreed to share information about bird flu.
Kazem Hashim Al-Hashemi, Bahraini deputy minister of agriculture, said, “The threat is there because the whole region lies along the flightways used by migratory birds.”
The GCC officials also agreed to unify strategies adopted by member states while outlining their individual efforts to counter any bird flu outbreak.
Referring to the GCC joint strategy, Al-Hashemi said the Gulf states had agreed to prevent the spread of avian flu by banning the import of birds, poultry and their products mainly from countries in Asia and Europe where bird flu cases have surfaced.
Saudi Arabia has already accelerated efforts to check bird flu. So far, there are no reports that birds in the Kingdom have been infected with the virus.
Asked about measures taken by Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Al-Sheha of the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture said: “Saudi Arabia has imposed a ban on the import of birds and poultry products from 20 countries. The ministry has allocated SR15 million to monitor and take preventive measures to stop the spread of bird flu. It is cooperating with the Ministry of Health and the Riyadh-based National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD).”
Al-Sheha pointed out that sample tests on some birds were conducted recently and the results were negative.
On Sunday, the UAE urged residents to hand over or slaughter live poultry and owners of shops selling live poultry within city limits were given until yesterday to close their shops.
Some GCC member states have also earmarked millions of dollars to buy drugs to combat the disease.
