FAO satisfied with bird flu contingency plan

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006

Abu Dhabi: The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has expressed complete satisfaction over the UAE's contingency plan for bird flu.

Dr Kayan Jaff, FAO representative in the UAE, said the organisation has done a detailed review of the plan and found it in conformity with international standards and the country may not need to do anything further as far as preventive measures are concerned. "The UAE emergency plan is comprehensive and in conformity with international standards. They (UAE) have done a good job and we are satisfied with it," Dr Jaff said during a briefing yesterday along with Majid Al Mansouri, spokesman for the UAE's National Emergency Response Committee for Bird Flu, and Secretary General of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD).

He also said with a comprehensive contingency plan in place, the country also does not need to worry about spraying vehicles coming from affected places such as Turkey as it is already being done on their own borders with the help of international organisations, including the FAO.

Dr Jaff said heavy checking is being done on Turkish borders with the help of UN, Nato, EU and other international and local organisations with a particular focus on perishable goods leaving the country.

See also www.gulfnews.com/indepth/bird_flu

Survey: No large-scale mortality or sickness signs found

Environment Agency Abu Dhabi said yesterday recent surveys conducted by a team of biologists have not found any large-scale mortality or signs of sickness among the wild birds at important sites for birds throughout the country.

The surveys were carried out by EAD, MOAF and Emirates Bird Record Committee (EBRC). In Abu Dhabi, during November and December last year, 16 key sites were covered. They included 15 coastal sites and one inland wetland, the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve.

During the survey, 72 species of birds belonging to 25 bird families were recorded. More than 25,000 individuals of different species were recorded at these sites.

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