THE GOVERNMENT said yesterday it was looking into unconfirmed media reports that the occupied areas might have had an outbreak of bird flu among wild ducks.
Nevertheless, it said preliminary findings suggested a false alarm and there was no cause for panic.
According to Turkish Cypriot newspaper Ortam, a flock of wild ducks at the Panagron dam had been spotted behaving strangely and were suspected of suffering from the deadly virus.
The birds were said not to have displayed their usual activity, were afraid of human presence, remained immobile and continuously scratched themselves with their beaks.
The paper said the Turkish Cypriot veterinary services had confirmed the birds’ presence and that samples had been taken for testing. The results will be ready on Friday.
Despite the fear of local contamination, Agriculture Minister Timis Efthymiou called for calm and said he had asked for a full briefing on the matter from the United Nations. He added the competent authorities were on full alert and taking all necessary measures to prevent an outbreak. The Veterinary Services were also co-operating with the EU’s Permanent Veterinary Committee and would take all necessary measures if and when needed, he said.
In the meantime, Foreign Minister George Iacovou said he had on Monday received assurances from UN mission head Michael Moller that there was no question of bird flu in the occupied areas.
Government Spokesman George Lillikas said yesterday there was no cause for panic. He pointed out the prevention measures in place since last October continued, controls at all Green Line checkpoints had been increased and the Agriculture and Health services met on a regular basis to discuss any updates.
“Despite the fact we don’t have the capacity to check or carry out our own reliable laboratory tests in the occupied areas we mustn’t spread panic. For the time being, there is no visible danger to the free areas of Cyprus. If anything materialises in the occupied areas, we have the measures to avert any possible spread to the free areas,” he said.
But MEP Adamos Adamou, who acts as an advisor to the European Commission Committee of Environment, Public Health and Food Safety on drawing up a Community Pandemic Preparedness Plan, expressed his concern regarding the suspected bird flu contamination in the occupied areas.
“We are a high-risk country because we have no control over half our country. We cannot control the occupied areas, irrespective of how good our intentions are. That’s why I want to appeal to the people, as a doctor and member of the European parliament, to limit their movements to the occupied areas. Not because we want to damage interaction between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, but because this is what common logic dictates in order to limit the chance of transferring possible cases of suspected bird flu to the free areas.”
In the meantime, Adamou said he had received satisfactory reports from both the Health and Agriculture Ministries regarding its preventive measures and contingency plan in light of an outbreak.
On this front, the Government Spokesman reminded local bird owners to co-operate with the authorities and called for house birds to be kept isolated. Anyone found violating the regulations would face severe consequences, Lillikas warned.
According to the Agriculture Minister, 21 poultry farmers have already been reported for failing to comply with instructions to close off all areas housing birds. The penalty for this offence carries a fine of up to £2,000 and/or six months imprisonment, he said. Poultry farms reported a second time would have all their birds culled.
As for the movement of animal or animal products from the occupied areas to the free areas, Efthymiou said offenders faced a fine of up to £5,000 and up to 12 months in prison. This penalty was doubled in cases involving repeat offenders.
The Minister was speaking to reporters following yet another lengthy meeting involving the Veterinary Services and Health Ministry.
