#1445
With the recent outbreak in Israel, neighboring countries are doing what they can to keep the H5N1 virus out.
Lebanon on alert after reports of bird flu
Agencies
Published: January 05, 2008, 15:18
Beirut: Lebanon mobilised teams on Saturday to monitor birds passing through its border after a case of bird flu was detected in neighbouring Israel.
In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Agriculture urged farmers to remain vigilant "and to keep their own birds locked up" to prevent a spread of the disease.
"The agriculture ministry's teams will continue to work on the ground to monitor any such cases that could come up and put an end to it in order to keep Lebanon free from this disease," it said.
There have been no reported cases of bird flu in Lebanon so far.
On Thursday, the Israeli agriculture ministry announced that 18 birds discovered dead near a school in Binyamina tested positive for bird flu.
The Israeli ministry ordered the culling of all fowl in a three-kilometre radius of the contaminated area.
