H5N1 in Riyadh Saudi Arabia
Recombinomics Commentary
November 18, 2007
The emergence of these results coincided with the disclosure of cases of death of poultry birds inside the home in the Jerusalem district, which is located in north-eastern part of Riyadh, has not yet been identified causes that led to the death of the chickens.
Al-Watan newspaper carried photographs of an agriculture ministry team in masks and white coats in the Aziziya market south of Riyadh, saying bird flu cases had been found there.
The discovery comes just a few weeks before nearly 2 million faithful arrive for the annual haj pilgrimage season in Mecca.
The above translation and report describes H5N1 outbreaks at multiple locations in Riyadh and suburbs. These outbreaks are in addition to the four outbreaks described in the OIE report (see satellite map) and raise new concerns about outbreaks in the area.
Earlier, Egypt reported H5N1 in backyard farms in Minya, and Yemen has reported poultry deaths which have not been tested because of a lack of funds.
At this time of the year migratory birds pass through the area. In December, 2005 H5N1 was detected in a healthy teal in the Nile Delta. However, most of the H5N1 in the nregion is detected in poultry farms which include large commercial farms as well as small backyard farms.
Although human cases have not been recently reported, cases were detected in Egypt in 2006 as well as 2007, suggesting additional cases will be reported soon.
As noted above, the recent reports of H5N1 in the region come shortly before the upcoming Haj.
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