While the rest of the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic, officials in Saudi Arabia are handling a confirmed bird flu case. It is reported that the case originated from a poultry farm in Riyadh, and officials have assured the public that it poses no risk to the health of humans.
The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture confirmed that the case of highly pathogenic bird flu – the H8N8 strain – was detected at a poultry farm in Riyadh and authorities are now taking necessary measures to ensure there is no further spreading of the virus.
Dr. Abdullah Aba Al-Khail, who works for the Ministry, said that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), H5N8 was a strain that only affected birds and could not be transmitted to humans. He added that the first registered case in the UK at the end of 2017 was controlled and did not pose a threat to the health of the public.
Field emergency teams were sent to the poultry farm and notified the farm owners. Emergency implementations were also instated.
Dr. Abdullah Aba Al-Khail noted the importance of biosecurity at such facilities and called on poultry farmers to be vigilant, put in place appropriate preventive measures when dealing with birds, and not to introduce new birds during the current period.
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