Officials from Israel's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development department of veterinary services and animal health met last week their Jordanian counterparts at the Allenby Bridge border crossing to coordinate measures against bird flu.
The meeting was organized, according to a ministry spokesman at the request of the Jordanians, who want to find out what steps Israel was taking to prepare for a possible outbreak and spread of the virus.
Following a meeting of European foreign ministers in Luxembourg last week, the EU declared the spread of avian flue a “global threat” requiring international cooperation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said after the Israeli Jordanian meeting that Israel and Jordan were trying to put together plans for a joint effort against the avian flu. Silvan added that since the flu was considered likely to spread in the near future to the Middle East, Israel would be willing to cooperate with other countries in the region on this issue.
Greece’s first case of avian flu in birds was diagnosed last Monday, however EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection Markos Kyprianou said in a press conference that the diagnosis had not increased the chances of a human epidemic.
