WHO declares country free of bird flu, prevention measures maintained

Preventative measures against potential outbreaks of avian flu will continue to be carried out despite a decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare Jordan free of the disease, said government officials. “The country should remain vigilant,” Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit said on Wednesday. “Personnel from the ministries of agriculture and health will continue their inspection programmes at poultry farms and domestic coops.” On the same day, the WHO declared Jordan free of avian flu after a three-week period elapsed without the discovery of any new cases. Late last month, four turkeys in the Ajloun governorate, north of the capital, Amman, were found dead of the potentially deadly HN51 virus. Since then, some 20,000 birds have been culled in affected areas, while public awareness campaigns about the disease have been stepped up. To date, the country’s only reported human case of bird flu was an Egyptian migrant worker who contracted the virus in Egypt before returning to Jordan. Diagnosed with the disease on 31 March, the patient was discharged from Karak Public Hospital ten days later after a technical committee from the health ministry confirmed his recovery. Chicken sales, meanwhile, which had been badly affected by the initial appearance of the disease, have already begun a gradual recovery, according to local poultry farmers.