In recent weeks, there has been an increase in the number of reports of bird flu cases in European countries, which the Ministry of Agriculture is constantly monitoring in case of an outbreak in Israel.
In the event that the disease reaches poultry in Israel, the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the Ministries of Health, Defense, The Environment and the Nature and Parks Authority are in contact for necessary planning, preparing for performing tests and monitoring ahead of the upcoming migration season.
According to the reports received so far, all cases involve a strain of avian influenza virus H5N1, similar to the strain that arrived in Israel during the previous migration season.
The risk of infection from a bird infected with a virus strain is low, and human-to-human transmission of the same virus strain has not been unequivocally proven.
The ministry upholds its alertness level while keeping constant communications with poultry breeders in Israel, anticipating that with the start of the southward migration of birds at the end of September, the flu may arrive with them.
The largest wave of bird flu outbreaks
In the previous migration season in 2021, Israel faced one of the largest waves of bird flu outbreaks worldwide.
And for the first time in the world, the Ministry of Agriculture faced an event of mass death among wild animals, which resulted in the death of over a million poultry and about 8,000 cranes.
The flu broke out in 20 centers across the country, the most prominent of which were farms in Moshav Margaliot and Agmon Ahula.
All the while, the Ministry of Agriculture worked tirelessly with the aim of eradicating the disease in infected areas, and carried out additional active monitoring.
The ministry emphasizes that, as in the previous migration season, they are preparing for every possiblescenario and will react as needed.