JEDDAH, 13 November 2005 — A royal decree has been issued banning the import into the Kingdom of all kinds of birds. The decree is part of the efforts to prevent an outbreak of bird flu in the Kingdom.
“This measure has been taken due to the dangers of bird flu and also after its appearance in countries near the Kingdom,” the Saudi Press Agency said, quoting Agriculture Minister Fahd Balghaneim.
The minister said the royal decree was issued after the Agriculture Ministry presented a report to higher authorities. “Officials at customs and entry points have been strictly instructed to prevent the entry of birds,” he said.
Health Minister Hamad Al-Manie, meanwhile, confirmed that Saudi Arabia was so far free from the deadly disease. “No bird flu cases have been reported in the Kingdom,” he said.
Al-Manie said the ministry was closely following the progress of the disease worldwide. “We have taken all precautionary measures to monitor suspicious bird flu cases,” he said, adding that the disease rarely spread from bird to humans.
The Saudi moves came after reports that a bird in Kuwait was infected by the deadly H5N1 strain, the first confirmed case in the Gulf. “In one of the birds we found the deadly H5N1,” said deputy director general of the Kuwaiti Public Agriculture Authority, Mohammed Al-Mehanna.
“A sick flamingo was found by the sea. It was killed by the authorities and did not die of the virus,” Mehanna explained. He said a second bird, a falcon at Kuwait airport that had been brought from an Asian country, was found to have the milder H5N2 strain. The two infected birds were discovered earlier this month, according to the head of the Public Agriculture Authority, Sheikh Fahd Salem Al-Sabah.
Saudi Arabia has stepped up measures to prevent any outbreak of bird flu in the country with the Ministry of Agriculture intensifying monitoring of some 500 poultry farms in various parts of the country.
On Oct. 25, the Kingdom banned live bird imports from Romania and Turkey where the deadly strain of H5N1 bird flu has been detected. It also halted imports from Iran.
