RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Fear of bird flu is sweeping the Middle East as the first suspected case was registered in Saudi Arabia despite measures to curb an outbreak.
Saudi daily al-Riyadh reported Monday a farmer alerted authorities about an epidemic, which has been destroying his flock of chicken for the past three days in the region of Surat Abida in southern Saudi Arabia.
A special team from the ministries of agriculture and health was dispatched urgently to the farm and took samples from the dead chicken for examination.
The paper quoted agriculture ministry official Said Kahtani as playing down fears of a possible spread of the bird flu saying, "The destruction of the birds might be due to cold weather as diagnosed by certain veterinaries."
"Anyway, samples from the affected chicken were already sent to the laboratories for verification as a preventive measure," he added.
He said the farmer and his family were also admitted to hospital for tests and examination.
In Algeria, the ministry of public health declared Monday the government will be purchasing between 5 million and 6 million vaccines as a measure against bird flu.
A ministry source was quoted by daily al-Khabar as sating the quantity will be sufficient to treat between 20 percent and 25 percent of the Algerian population.
