More Birds Die of Avian Flu

The number of birds dying from avian influenza at Mighan Lagoon Wetland in Markazi Province has increased dramatically over the past week. “A total of 940 dead birds were found around the lagoon, a sharp increase compared with the 300 that were found dead in the previous week,” said Siamak Masoudi, head of the Wildlife Diseases Group at the Department of Environment, on Sunday. Besides the central Markazi Province, the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain has been detected in Alborz, Qom, East Azarbaijan, Kermanshah, Mazandaran and Tehran, ILNA reported. Since early reports in mid-November, over 600,000 poultry has been culled, according to the Iran Veterinary Organization. The Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization of Iran said on Friday it had allocated $2.5 million (100 billion rials) to fight avian influenza in seven provinces.