The Minister for the Environment has raised the alert over the possible detection of a source of bird ‘flu in the coastal areas of Mauritania and the possibility of it being carried by the birds as the migrate to the north of Europe. On their migatory flights the birds would only be a matter of hours from Fuerteventura. Lázaro Cabrera said he was most surprised by the failure of international coordination and that up to mow the Cabildo had not received even a telephone call on the matter, having to rely on calls from individuals in Maritania and the press of that country, who have already been informed.
He explained that since last October the Cabildo had been working with the Ayuntamientos and Canarian Government to take preventative measures. These include posting personnel and teams of observers in the wetlands of Fuerteventura, but this was of little use if there was not a fluid means of communication at the international level to provide information about which areas have the infection, as it is possible that the infection could reach us in a matter of hours or days if the outbreak in Mauritania is confirmed. The information that the Cabildo has is that in Maritania there are suspected cases of infected birds in the areas of Toufde, Civet and Kaedi, and that the affected area is the coastal tract from the border with Senegal, north.
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