Hundreds of camels die from Mystery Disease
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Hundreds of camels die from Mystery Disease*
From correspondents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
August 19, 2007 03:01am
Article from: Reuters
HUNDREDS of camels have died in Saudi Arabia this week from a mystery
ailment.
The Agriculture Ministry has said 232 camels died in the space of four
days in the Dawasir Valley, 400km south of Riyadh.
King Abdullah has promised compensation for owners, who say the real
number of deaths is far higher.
Agriculture ministry officials have denied an infectious disease caused
the deaths and blamed them on animal feed supplied by food storage
authorities.
“The disease has to be limited to one place to prevent it spreading and
then they have to find a serum,” said camel breeder Hamad al-Harthy, who
talked of hundreds of deaths.
“They need to bring in help from abroad to find a solution,” said trader
Turki Abdelaziz.
Camels are big business in the desert kingdom and are traded by Bedouin
tribes for thousands of dollars each.
The animals are used for racing and their meat is also prized.
Authorities have been on the lookout for signs of the deadly H5N1 strain
of bird flu over the last year.
The virus was found in birds in two instances, in March and last year.
The Agriculture Ministry has lifted bans on poultry imports.