A newspaper published in Baku, Azerbaijan has reported that about 2,000 dead birds have been found in a water reservoir in Iran near the Armenian border.
According to “Olaylar” (and republished on www.day.az), analyses taken
from the carcasses has been sent to laboratories in Tehran and in Italy
to determine whether the fowl was infected by Avian Influenza (Bird
Flu).
The specific reservoir was not named in the article. There are two
reservoirs on Iranian territory along the Arax River – the Arax-Hydro
Unit in Nakichevan and the Horadiz, which borders Nagorno Karabakh.
(Iran and Armenia share borders with the Arax.)
Health officials in Yerevan contacted by ArmeniaNow said they had not heard about any such discovery.
“I have talked to my Iranian colleague, and he doesn’t have any
information, either,” said Grisha Baghyan, head of the State Veterinary
Inspection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Edward Stepanyan, deputy director of the same department told
ArmeniaNow that the border with Iran is carefully monitored by Russian
soldiers who are on alert for any suspicion of potential health
hazards, particularly Bird Flu, and that no information has come from
them.
Stepanyan says that, even if the report is true, Armenia has taken all
measures – including stocking up on anti-virus vaccines – to resist any
outbreak of the virus.
Over the summer, various international agencies, including World Bank,
USAID, European Commission and World Food Programme, have provided
training, equipment and conducted public awareness campaigns in Armenia.
In January, incidents of Bird Flu were reported in Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Iran, and Turkey, near the border with Armenia.
While neighbors had
outbreaks, Armenian officials assured that no cases of the virus were
found here.
Stepanyan said that, due to recent cooperation with international
agencies and based on experiences of other countries, Armenia is “even
more prepared than we were last year” to combat Bird Flu.
The Ministry
of Agriculture plans to open a telephone hotline later this month to
aid public awareness of the issue.
ArmeniaNow has not yet been able to confirm the Azeri newspaper report.
By Siranouish Gevorgyan and Marianna Grigoryan
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