Bahrain Mirror: Assistant Under-Secretary for agriculture affairs in the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Dr. Ibrahim Yusuf denied the presence of highly contagious strain of bird flu "H5N8" in Bahrain, stressing that the directorate took all precautions and measures, adding that there is a special operation room to follow up the incident.

He said in a press statement that Bahrain took a decision to stop the import of poultry and birds from Saudi Arabia, until further notice, through King Fahd Causeway and other entrances. He went on to say that there is cooperation between the agriculture department and all competent parties in Bahrain.

Yusuf indicated that they received information the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture and Environment stressing an outbreak of a "highly contagious" strain of bird flu, H5N8, in the Azizia market in Riyadh.

He went on to say that veterinary teams from agriculture department toured last Friday and Saturday the popular market to examine the birds set for sale, denying any bird flu case.

He added that there is a working team that headed to store of selling birds and poultry farms to provide them with precaution measures and to take samples for laboratory examinations.

Yusuf stated that all precaution measures were taken in GCC states until things become clear, adding that Kuwait suffered from this virus last year. We thank God that no injuries were recorded in Bahrain, he went on to say.

Arabic Version