'Suspicious' samples led to ban on Saudi poultry

Abu Dhabi: A UAE official revealed that the detection of suspicious samples among products that were imported from Saudi Arabia led to the ban on all poultry products from the kingdom several days before the official announcement of the bird flu attack.

"While conducting regular inspections we found suspicious samples that led to quick ban on all poultry products, including frozen ones, from Saudi Arabia.

"This happened almost a week before the official announcement of the outbreak," said Abdul Nasser Al Shamsi, a member of the National Committee for Emergency Response to Bird Flu and the Director of Terrestrial Environment Research Centre (TERC) at the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi.

"Initially when the UAE took the decision to ban these products, we were questioned by people why the decision was taken, especially businesses who are directly affected by the decision.

"Sometimes, products free of any contamination are shipped from other countries to Saudi Arabia, stored there and then re-exported to the UAE.

"To ensure the safety of our people we had to enforce the ban on all products, including these ... now the stance we took has been proven right."

The Saudi Agriculture Ministry announced on Friday that it had culled over 90,000 birds after deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was detected at some poultry farms, citing migratory birds as the cause of outbreak.

Bird flu has killed over 200 humans since it was first registered in Southeast Asia in 2003.

'Don't panic'

Asking the public not to panic over reports of bird flu in other countries, Al Shamsi stressed that the UAE is conducting rigorous and stringent inspections to ensure the quality of the products available in the market. "The inspections are now performed frequently and cases are dealt with one to one."

"The collective efforts of all the organisations working under the umbrella of the National Committee will ensure that no bad products are available in the market. All entry points into the country are screened, be it land, air or sea," Al Shamsi said.

Prepared: Ready to combat

Majid Al Mansoori, head of the Secretariat of the National Committee for Emergency Response to Bird Flu and the Secretary General of Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD), told Gulf News the UAE is ready to deal with any emergency situation and all measures have been taken to ensure preparedness to face the worst situation in case of a bird flu outbreak in the country.

The readiness of the bird flu plan devised by the National Committee for Emergency Response to Bird Flu was tested several times by conducting drills and necessary amendments to the plan were made to ensure coordination.

The plan includes surveillance measures as well as emergency responses. Quarantine areas have been identified as part of the plan.

How safe it is

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, it is safe to use poultry and poultry products following certain precautions to ensure that they come from healthy animals.

In areas free of the disease, poultry and poultry products can be prepared and consumed as usual following good hygienic practices and proper cooking, with no fear of being infected by the H5N1 virus. Even in areas experiencing outbreaks, fully cooked products are safe for consumption.