Israel confirms deadly bird flu virus

Israel’s agriculture ministry confirmed today that the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu had spread to three locations in the Holy Land, where hundreds of thousands of turkeys and chickens were culled over the weekend.

In a statement on its website, the ministry said the flu had been found at the southern communal farms Ein Hashlosha and Holit and in Sdeh Moshe, a farming community in central Israel.