The Battle against Bird Flu in Jordan!

Deep inside we all knew it was a matter of time, and it has eventually happened. The notorious bird flu virus has entered Jordan. While the government was expecting the outbreak to happen in the Jordan Valley area adjacent to the bird flu outbreak spot in Israel/Palestine, the tricky virus hit three turkeys that were found dead at a domestic farm in Ajloun.

Now it is the time where months of planning, studies and meetings should culminate in an organized plan to face and restrict the spread of the virus. According to reports and statements by the government and the national committee for bird flu we can say the following:

1- There is a certain bird flu outbreak location in kofranja/ Ajloun: The official response by the government ios to kill all birds in the area and test the humans who have been in contact. By late Friday tests were done on people with no signs of the virus but the process of killing the poultry did not start yet, or at least was not reported on. The WHO guidelines require killing all birds within a radius of 3 Km of the infection spot and then monitoring the area with a radius of 10 Km to prevent the virus from going out. How this will done remains to be unknown for me.

2- There is a potential infection/ outbreak area which is the Jordan Valley. The government has ordered the citizens who raise birds in their homes to consume or kill the birds within one week before the government starts killing the birds. The governemnt has made it clear that there will be no compensation for hit farms and killed birds. This particular issue is annoying me since in one week the virus can spread in the area. Why does the governemnt run away from the option of paying for farmers and then killing the birds instantly once an infection apears?

I have a certain level of confidence of the measures taken by the governemnt but would love to see more discussions on the possibility of paying the farmers and taking the strongest measures to terminate the virus.