KAZAKHSTAN AVIAN FLU INCIDENT: NO HUMAN CASE, USG

UNCLAS ALMATY 002842 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CACEN JMUDGE, OES/STC AND EUR/RUS NOLL ALSO FOR EB/TPP/ATP AND EB/TPP/BTA USDA FAS FOR ITP FOR MACKE/THOMAS, CMP/DLP WETZEL FAS PLEASE PASS TO APHIS AND FSIS HHS FOR WSTEIGER, PBUDASHEWITZ BRUSSELS PLEASE PASS TO APHIS/FENANDEZ ANKARA FOR FAS ATTACHE HIGGISTON GENEVA FOR HEALTH ATTACHE TASHKENT FOR ESTH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR TBIO ECON RS ETRD PGOV KZ POLITICAL SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN AVIAN FLU INCIDENT: NO HUMAN CASE, USG ASSISTING INVESTIGATION REF: (A) MOSCOW 9453 (NOTAL) (B) MOSCOW 9529 (NOTAL) (C) EMAIL: ALMATY-ASTANA O/I 02AUG05 ¶1. Summary/Background: Despite serious fears to the contrary, the Kazakhstani Ministry of Health stated on August 2 that the poultry farm worker from the Golubovka farm (Pavlodar oblast) has not/not tested positive by any locally available laboratory means for the strain of avian influenza (AI) known to be transmissible to humans (Ref C). (Refs A and B describe a nearly simultaneous outbreak of the virus in Novosibirsk, Russia.) On August 3, Kazakhstani media reported the hospitalization of fifteen people with stomach disorders in Ust-Kamenogorsk (80 kilometers from the Russian border in East Kazakhstan),all of whom had consumed chicken at the same cafeteria before falling ill. No/no diagnoses have been made in East Kazakhstan, and every indication is that the illness is consistent with salmonella rather than AI. ¶2. Six hundred geese died of the virus at the Golubovka farm, and the remaining 2,700 animals were slaughtered and burned in a disinfection effort. The infected animals are assumed to have been infected with the highly pathogenic variant of the virus. CDC/CAR has arranged for United States researchers to assist in the investigation of the incident. End Summary/Background. -------------- Outbreak in Pavlodar Oblast -------------- ¶3. The week of July 20, a poultry farm in the village of Golubovka (Pavlodar Oblast) experienced the deaths of about six hundred of its over 3,000 animals. Golobuvka is 200 kilometers from the city of Pavlodar and 50 kilometers from the Russian border. On July 29, a 20 year old man who worked on the farm was admitted to the regional infectious diseases clinic with double pneumonia. The young man reportedly began complaining of flu-like symptoms between July 13 and 20. (Note: There have been reports that the farm may have experienced a previous outbreak in mid-June. End Note.) ¶4. The oblast-level Ministry of Emergency Situations declared a quarantine of the affected village. By August 1, all of the animals at the farm had been destroyed. On August 2, the Ministry of Health announced that contrary to previous media reports, the young man was not infected with AI. Measures taken by the local authorities included plowing the entire area of the farm, building additional fences around its territory and sending samples (blood serum and nasal swabs from the human patient, serum from the birds) for evaluation. ¶5. Pavlodar Oblast has also banned the transport of poultry across the border in its Irtysh, Kachirsk and Uspensky districts, all of which border the Novosibirsk Oblast of Russia. North Kazakhstan Oblast (northwest of Pavlodar) has also taken measures, quarantining five farms and banning the importation into the oblast of chicken from the Russian oblasts of Novosibirsk, Tyumen and Omsk. Yuriy Puzikov, the deputy head of the North Kazakhstan epidemiology service, said that "(the) situation in North Kazakhstan is tense, but should not give rise to concern." -------------- USG Response -------------- ¶6. CDC/CAR representative Dr. Michael Favorov has arranged for United States virologists from Naval Medical Research Unit Three (NAVMRU-3) to arrive in Kazakhstan August 5 to develop polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostics for the virus and train local personnel in their use. -------------- Suspicious Illnesses in Ust-Kamenogorsk -------------- ¶7. Fifteen people have been hospitalized since July 29 with apparent gastro-enterocolitis in Ust-Kamenogorsk. The patients all report having consumed chicken cutlets in the company cafeteria at a business called "FinAgro" before falling ill. All of the patients are reported to be in stable condition, and while the local epidemiological authorities have not explicitly voiced a suspicion of AI, they have reportedly sent 25 samples for testing; results are expected by August 6. A student epidemiologist from the CDC-supported Applied Epidemiology Training Program (AETP) is involved in the investigation. Ust-Kamenogorsk is 470 kilometers southeast of Pavlodar, 80 kilometers from the Russian border and 320 kilometers from the Chinese border. ¶8. Although some press reports have hinted at a connection between the Ust-Kamenogorsk illnesses and the situation in Pavlodar, post notes that the symptoms exhibited by patients in Ust-Kamenogorsk are typical of salmonella. It is unlikely that another AI outbreak has occurred in that region. ¶9. Comment: Post continues to follow the developing situation in Pavlodar Oblast. The GOK's acceptance of U.S. diagnostic assistance is a positive development and should help obtain a clearer picture of the outbreak. End comment. ¶10. Dushanbe Minimize considered. ORDWAY NNNN