RFE/RL reports that the Armenian government is keeping a close eye on the situation with an outbreak of avian bird flu in neighboring Turkey. While nationalists in the Diaspora seem to think that a closed border with it’s neighbor will protect the Republic, local Armenians are nonetheless following the news closely. I’m also glad to see that the Armenian government is introducing measures in case something does happen.

The Armenian authorities announced on Monday extraordinary measures to prevent the spread of bird flu from nearby regions in neighboring Turkey where the deadly virus has already killed three people and is reportedly sweeping westward.

Officials said the government in Yerevan has imposed a complete ban on poultry imports, introduced mandatory sanitary controls on Armenia’s border crossings and ordered the Armenia customs to check every piece of luggage arriving from Turkey.

Contrary to popular opinion [in the Diaspora at least], there is a significant amount of trade between the two historical enemies albeit via Georgia, as well as direct flights between Yerevan and some Turkish cities. Thankfully, however, there have been no reports of infection in Armenia so far, but the government has nevertheless set up a taskforce to deal with the dangers of the flu spreading.

Although the Turkish-Armenian has long been closed for any traffic, the deadly disease can be easily transmitted to Armenia by wild birds. Hunting for them has therefore been banned as part of the latest measures taken by the Armenian government. Baghian said vets across the country have been instructed to watch for signs of bird frailty and immediately report them to Yerevan.

According to the official said all individuals arriving in Armenia from Turkey, both by air and via neighboring Georgia, have been undergoing thorough baggage checks since Sunday. “We have instructed relevant authorities to check the baggage of individuals coming from Turkey and make sure that not a single chicken feather or egg is brought to Armenia,” he said, adding that every vehicle and person entering Armenia has to be “disinfected” now by sanitary inspectors deployed at border crossings.

This follows a warning from the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan to American citizens living and working in the Republic to stay away from live poultry markets. Meanwhile, the government has earmarked $110,000 on vaccination against the virus and the Armenian Foreign Ministry has issued a travel advisory warning Armenians visiting Turkey to stay away from the country’s eastern regions and to exercise caution in any case.

However, as proof that there are concerns that the flu could spread to the Republic, the European Union has banned the import of poultry from Armenia as well as Turkey, Georgia, Iran and Syria. And as there are concerns with the migration of wild birds who are not known to apply Diasporan logic when planning their flight paths, Interfax reports that Kocharian has issued instructions to prepare for such an eventuality.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian, at a meeting on Monday with senior government members, gave “strict instructions to carry through all possible preventive measures” to stop bird flu crossing the border into Armenia, said the head of the state veterinary inspectorate, Grigory Bagiyan.

Among other things, Kocharian gave instructions “to get ready for the forthcoming spring bird migration, including from neighboring Turkey, where a bird flu virus has already been recorded,” Bagiyan told a news conference.

Regardless of a closed border with Turkey there are still open borders with Georgia and Iran, and let’s hope that that the virus doesn’t mutate into a form that can be transmitted from human to human.