THE government yesterday stepped up restrictions in the south east of the island after poultry tested positive for bird flu at a village in the occupied north, just five kilometres from the dividing line near Famagusta.
The test results, announced on Sunday, have sparked a war of words between the two sides, as veterinary experts struggle to prevent an outbreak.
Fears about a potential bird flu outbreak on the island were confirmed by the European Commission on Sunday, with the announcement that the first case of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu had been located in the Turkish-held north.
Although the Green Line acts as the de facto boundary of the European Union, the news has increased fears that it is only a matter of time before the westward-travelling avian influenza emerges in an EU country.
Last Monday, January 23, preliminary tests on two cases of bird flu detected in samples from a cock and a hen in the village of Makrasyka (Incirli) in the north tested positive.
The preliminary results were announced shortly after the ‘health minister’ spokesman in the north dismissed allegations that the north may be facing a bird flu outbreak due to reports of a large number of dead birds at a farm in the Karpasia area; the spokesman also claimed that the precautions taken in the north were more far-reaching than those taken in the south.
The samples were then sent to Turkey and the UK for further testing. Upon detecting H5N1 on Sunday in one of the samples, the authorities at once sent two EU experts to Cyprus for investigations. The two Germans are scheduled to return to Brussels tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the authorities in both communities have been engaged in reciprocal finger pointing. ‘Prime Minister’ of the north Ferdi Sabit Soyer has made statements inferring that bird flu also exists in the government controlled areas but has been ignored or covered up, while Greek Cypriot authorities claim that the appearance of bird flu in Makrasyka demonstrates the lack of competence in the north to take proper preventive measures.
According to reports, Soyer also insinuated that the bird flu travelled across the Green Line into the north. Government Spokesman George Lillikas said that Soyer’s “curious remark” was “unsubstantiated and ungrounded”, adding that such statements “do nothing but create tension”.
Lillikas said there was “no justification for panic, nor for serious concern over the issue of bird flu,” noting that even the EU – through its representation in Cyprus – has “said that there is no danger in the free areas”.
Makrasyka, the village where the bird flu cases were first located, is only five kilometres north of the Green Line. A heightened security zone with a 10km radius has been established around the village.
Agriculture Minister Timis Efthymiou said yesterday that Achna, Avgorou, Xylotymbou, Ormideia and Pyla all fall within this quarantine zone.
Within the zone there will be sterilisation of all outgoing traffic, a quarantine of all birds, and a ban on hunting and fishing as well as on the collection of snails or mushrooms. The measures are set to be in place for at least 30 days.
Efthymiou met with representatives from the British Bases yesterday regarding the safety measures being taken at the neighboring Dhekelia base. Officials of the Veterinary Services will visit the north in the next few days to see what measures are being taken there.
The Cyprus government has said that though it will tighten security measures, and the crossings between the two communities will not close.
A customs official at the Ledra crossing yesterday told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that no new measures had been implemented at Ledra since heightened measures were already in place. All pedestrians crossing at Ledra have personal luggage searched and have to walk over a carpet saturated in a sterilising fluid.
“At present there is no decision to close any of the crossing points and no additional restrictions have been placed by the EU than those already in force,” Efthymiou said.
But certain political parties are eager to see the crossings close. EDEK deputy Marinos Sizopoulos has asked that the government consider the possibility of temporarily closing the crossings as “part of the prevention measures” and warned those visiting the north to be “extremely careful” to avoid catching bird flu.
Demetris Syllouris of the European Democrats said that the confirmation of bird flu in the north demonstrates that it was “mistaken” of the government to not adopt their proposal for stricter control at the crossings.
Health Minister Andreas Gavrielides said that the Cyprus government currently possesses 450 doses of Tammiflu and 150 doses of Relenza. Gavrielides said that in case there was any need for more medication then they would “be able to get more instantly” and that “EU and other international health organisations would come to the aid of Cyprus.”
There were rumours yesterday in the north that a case of bird flu had tested positive at Achna Lake, which is south of the Green Line. But District Veterinary Officer Savvas Yiallouros told the Cyprus Mail the rumours were untrue.
“We have been testing dead birds and faeces from Achna Lake about every week for months now,” Yiallouros said. “None of the samples have tested positive.”
According to World Health Organisation numbers, bird flu has killed at least 83 people since re-emerging in Asia in late 2003.
EU experts arrive in Cyprus
WITH Sunday’s confirmation from the Community Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza at Weybridge in the UK that the bird flu strain had been detected in one of the two samples from Makrasyka village, the European Commission immediately sent two experts from the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Unit to Cyprus.
The two experts arrived in Cyprus on Sunday night to “investigate the epidemiology of the disease on the ground” and spent yesterday meeting with veterinarians in both communities.
In its statement, the Commission said that “no live animals or animal products, including all poultry products and feathers, can be transferred across the Green Line or to the European Union.”
Head of Veterinary Services George Neophytou said that the two experts came to Cyprus to offer their assistance and determine any deficiencies and weaknesses that may exist in the north regarding preventative measures against bird flu.
Neophytou also said that the visit of the experts had already been planned for a later date, but the visit was moved up with the confirmation of the H5N1 strain.
Spokesman on Health and Consumer Protection for the European Commission Philip Tod said the two investigators would return to Brussels tomorrow where they will deliver their report to the EU Health Commissioner.
Another team of experts will return to Cyprus from February 13-17.
