JERUSALEM, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security said on Wednesday that it has detected an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, in the northern Gilboa region.

The outbreak was discovered on a turkey farm, which houses 34,000 birds, in the village of Ram-On, north of the West Bank, the ministry said in a statement.

This marks the second bird flu outbreak reported by the ministry in 2024, following a previous one detected earlier this month in the northern Israeli village of Nahalal, about 20 km north of Ram-On.

To prevent the further spread of the disease, all chicken coops within a 10-km radius of the infected site were quarantined and the active monitoring of all coops in the area was initiated. The ministry called on ornamental bird breeders and coop owners to keep the animals indoors to reduce infection risk.

It also urged the public to purchase well-packaged and labeled eggs at regulated sales places and consume poultry and eggs only after they have been thoroughly cooked, baked, or fried.

Avian flu is highly contagious and can infect a range of animals, including cats, pigs, and even tigers, with rare cases of human infection. Enditem

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