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Cablegate: Israeli Avian Flu-Related Restrictions On Poultry

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

301411Z Dec 05

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 007102

SIPDIS

INTERIOR PASS FISH AND WILDLIFE
USDA FOR APHIS AND FAS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR ETRD TBIO IS ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ECONOMY AND FINANCE GOI EXTERNAL
SUBJECT: ISRAELI AVIAN FLU-RELATED RESTRICTIONS ON POULTRY
IMPORTS

REFS: A) STATE 216147, B) STATE 209622, C) TEL AVIV 05579,

D) TEL AVIV 06170

1. SUMMARY: On October 13, 2005 Israel banned all imports
of poultry products from Turkey following a reported case of
AI there. Israel currently bans the import of poultry and
poultry products from areas where AI cases have been
confirmed - Southeast Asia, Croatia, Russia, and Romania.
The supply of poultry products has not been affected by
these bans, as Israel is largely self-sufficient in the
production of poultry products. There has been no decrease
in the consumption of poultry products in Israel, in part
due to the level of public confidence fostered by public
awareness campaigns regarding preventative food safety
measures undertaken by the GOI's Ministry of Agriculture.
END SUMMARY.

2. In Israel, over 300,000 tons of chicken, 95,000 tons of
turkey, and over one billion eggs are consumed per year.
Due to kashrut practices and kosher food processing
regulations, the majority of poultry products are produced
in country. This increases the economic impact that an
outbreak of the H5N1 strain of influenza would have on local
poultry producers. The most at risk poultry population for
contact with affected wild birds are table-egg layer stocks.
This is because approximately ninety percent of such hens
are raised in Moshavs, where between 2,500 and 3,000 hens
are housed per building in a confined area, thereby making
it more difficult to limit the exposure of healthy hens to
unhealthy ones. According to the Chief of Poultry Services,
Dr. Pokamunski, an AI outbreak among table-egg layers would
decimate this industry sub-sector in Israel.

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3. Breeder stocks are imported from the United States,
United Kingdom, and Canada. All breeder stocks and turkeys
are vaccinated against respiratory diseases that commonly
affect poultry. The Veterinary Service has also established
a vaccine assurance procurement arrangement with a poultry
vaccine producer in the Netherlands. Under the terms of
this agreement, a total of four million doses of poultry
vaccine could be procured and shipped within 72 hours.

4. In terms of containment, if AI is found in a flock of
poultry, all poultry flocks grown within a 3-kilometer
radius of the affected flock will be culled to create a
"sterile zone." Owners of these flocks would be
compensated, but a financial compensation package has not
yet been determined, and the owners probably would not be
compensated for their full economic losses. Poultry flocks
in the 7-kilometer radius outside any sterile zone will be
monitored and undergo active surveillance for signs of
disease. Poultry grown within this 7-kilometer radius would
not enter the food supply chain without clearance from the
Veterinary Service.

5. Dr. Pokamunski told post that if AI becomes a pandemic
in Israel, there will be a "big mess" in the poultry
industry and Israel will lose up to eighty percent of its
commercial flocks. At the same time, he noted that the
short-term risk of transmission of AI from wild birds to
poultry would decrease soon as Israel is approaching the end
of the southbound migratory bird fly over season.

6. Post has provided Ref A talking points to the Ministry
of Industry and Trade.

CRETZ

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