Avian Flu Kills Tens of Thousands of Birds in Israel

As if the coronavirus wasn’t enough… Israel, known for the size of both its migratory bird population and its poultry industry, has been hit almost every year since 2006 with the avian influenza virus, but this year’s bird flu is particularly virulent. The Agriculture Ministry said Monday that it discovered a new hotspot, in Nahalal, an agricultural community about 14 miles southeast of Haifa, where 42,000 turkeys were found to be infected with the virus. On Sunday, outbreaks were reported in the towns of Gadish, where 7,400 chickens were infected, and Ne’ot Golan, where 14,000 turkeys have the disease. In the Hula Valley, 8,000 migratory cranes have died from the disease. All of the outbreaks have been due to the H5N1 subvariant. The Agriculture Ministry is expecting an egg shortage in the coming months due to the disease and may open the market to imports to meet the demand.