JEDDAH, 24 October 2005 — The Health Ministry has taken all precautions to prevent any outbreak of bird flu in the country and allocated SR25 million for the purchase of anti-viral drugs, Dr. Yaaqub Al-Mazroue, assistant deputy minister for preventive medicine, said yesterday.

“The agency for preventive medicine has worked out a comprehensive plan to deal with the problem,” Mazroue said, adding that the ministry’s labs and blood banks have taken measures to ensure quick detection of bird flu cases, in case of any outbreak in the Kingdom. He denied the presence of any suspected bird flu cases in Saudi Arabia.

Experts fear the H5N1 virus, which has killed more than 60 people and caused the death of millions of birds in Asia since 2003, could mutate and spread among humans, creating a pandemic that might kill tens of millions of people. Fears of a bird flu outbreak this year have forced Saudi officials to take extra precautions ahead of a large influx of pilgrims from around the world.

Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie has already ordered the purchase of adequate quantity of the drug Tamiflu in preparation to confront the epidemic. Workers in all Makkah hospitals and health centers, as well as people working at the holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah, will be given the drug if any outbreak occurs.

Priority groups for vaccination would also include people most likely to be exposed to the virus — those close to an outbreak, workers on chicken farms, the elderly or sick and those working in clinics set up to test for bird flu cases.