Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend S.Babayeva / On 17 March the State Veterinary Service of the Azerbaijan Agriculture Ministry announced the results of the fourth monitoring in 2007. The Head of the State Service, Ismayl Hasanov, said at press-conference on 17 March that the blood and pathological samples of domestic and wild birds were examined during the monitoring held on 5-9 March. The examinations did not discover signs of bird flu. Since August 2006 pathological samples of more than 20.000 domestic and wild birds have been examined during monitoring. The monitoring was held by a commission of specialists of the State Service, Health Ministry, Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry and Society of Hunters on the territories of Pirallahi island, Absheron Peninsula, Davachi, Salyan, Aghdjabado, and Lankaran, as well as in the national parks, reserves, and coastal zone. Presently all veterinary border services are conducting inspections to prevent the penetration of the virus into the Country. The ban on hunting, the sale and use of wild birds, as well as the import of poultry from countries where there has previously been cases of the 'bird flu' virus, is in force.