More than 5,000 wild cranes have died during a massive bird flu outbreak in Israel. Half a million chickens have had to be slaughtered
An outbreak of avian flu in Israel has killed at least 5,200 migratory cranes and forced farmers to cull as many as 500,000 poultry birds to contain what has been called the “worst blow to wildlife” in the country’s history.
The dead cranes were discovered on Sunday at the Hula Nature Reserve, in northern Israel. Local media outlets reported that some 25,000 cranes were thought to have landed this year at the popular reserve, which is situated along a major bird migration route.
Park rangers wearing hazardous-material suits have been pictured collecting thousands of carcasses from the Hula lake and other outlying areas at the reserve. Dozens of the birds were reportedly found to be sick nearly 10 days ago.
“Many of the birds are dead in the middle of the water body, so it’s difficult for them to be taken out,” Uri Naveh, a senior scientist at the Israel Parks and Nature Authority, told the news agency AP, adding that the cleanup situation was not yet under control and the team was looking for “other solutions.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with security advisers and health experts on Monday to discuss efforts to prevent the spread of the bird flu (H5N1). The prime minister’s office said in a statement that no human transmission had been reported so far.
Warning that the “extent of the damage was still unclear,” Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg described the outbreak as “the worst blow to wildlife in the country’s history” in a tweet on Sunday.
הפגיעה החמורה ביותר בחיות בר בתולדות המדינה. 5000 עגורים מתים משפעת העופות באגמון החולה, ועוד לא ברור היקף הנזק. ביקרתי שם היום עם נציגי רשות הטבע והגנים וקרן קיימת לישראל pic.twitter.com/i0Qb4CzQAJ
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority believes that the disease spread from the community of Moshav Margaliot on the border with Lebanon. The Times of Israel reported that a truck driver who delivered feed to the chicken coops there had then brought food to the Hula Reserve.
The Agriculture Ministry told the paper that the farmers in Margaliot had failed to report the outbreak when it was discovered, allowing it to “spread like wildfire.” The ministry also detected H5N1 hotspots in three other farming communities that have since been isolated.
A ministry spokesperson told AP that half a million chickens in the affected area were being culled to prevent the disease from spreading.
Long-running conflicts continued in Syria and Yemen this year, whilst fresh unrest caused serious instability in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Sudan. United Nations “Blue Helmet” peacekeepers suffered losses and injuries, particularly those serving in the peacekeeping missions in Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR). Nevertheless, the UN reaffirmed its commitment to protect those caught up in the fighting.
A new report from UNESCO estimates the potential lifetime earnings lost to the world’s children due to school closings. But there are ways to prevent this from happening.
White House’s Covid-19 guru says Americans should stay away from big holiday bashes
White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has broken the bad news to Americans awaiting his guidance on New Year’s Eve parties, saying they should again forego large gatherings because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“When you are talking about a New Year’s Eve party, where you have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you do not know the status of their vaccination — I would recommend strongly, stay away from that this year,” Fauci said on Monday in a CNN interview. “There will be other years to do that, but not this year.”
The warning marked the latest call for caution from President Joe Biden’s administration amid the rapid spread of Covid-19’s Omicron variant. Less than one month after first being identified in South Africa, the new strain became the dominant source of new Covid-19 infections in the US. Biden said earlier this month that with Omicron’s emergence, “we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death” for unvaccinated Americans.
Like Fauci, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker sounded the alarm over New Year’s Eve celebrations on Monday. “Omicron and Delta are coming to your party,” he said. “You need to think twice about how many people will be gathered together and social distancing. If you’re at a party and you can’t, leave.”
Fauci gave his seal of approval for in-home gatherings with family members who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and have received booster shots.
The White House advisor also opined about former President Donald Trump’s recent endorsement of the Covid-19 booster shots that has drawn conservative pushback.
Noting that he was “stunned” by Trump’s decision to promote the vaccination against Covid-19 as well as by the backlash the ex-president received for this endeavor, Fauci accused Trump of “poisoning the well early on” by not rallying behind the vaccination campaign from the get-go.
“Some of the people that have been following his every word and what he does are now pushing back and not listening, which really tells you the strength of the divisiveness in our society.”
COVID-19 continues to demonstrate how quickly “an infectious disease can sweep across the world”, pushing health systems to the brink and upending daily life for all of humanity, the UN chief said on Monday, marking the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.
