KAZAKHSTAN AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE

UNCLAS ALMATY 003085

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CACEN MUDGE, AND EUR/RUS NOLL
ALSO FOR EUR/PGI AYU, OES/IHA COMELLA AND SINGER, OES/STC
NP/PTR CAMERON, EB/TPP/ATP, EB/TPP/BTA AND INR/REA
USDA FAS FOR ITP FOR MACKE/THOMAS, CMP/DLP WETZEL
FAS PLEASE PASS TO APHIS AND FSIS
HHS FOR WSTEIGER, PBUDASHEWITZ
CDC FOR SBLOUNT, EMCCRAY
BRUSSELS PLEASE PASS TO APHIS/FENANDEZ
ANKARA FOR FAS ATTACHE HIGGISTON
GENEVA FOR HEALTH ATTACHE
TASHKENT FOR ESTH

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR TBIO ECON RS ETRD PGOV KZ POLITICAL
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE

REF: (A) ALMATY 2842

(B) ALMATY 2904
(C) ALMATY 2957
(D) STATE 15149


1. (SBU) Summary: This telegram supplements Reftels A-C and
responds to the directive in para. 5 of Reftel D. On August
18, additional outbreaks of H5N1 AI were confirmed in
villages of North Kazakhstan Oblast, which borders on the
Russian Federation. Thousands of domesticated birds have
been culled in response. The GOK canceled the fall hunting
season to prevent contact between humans and wild fowl
during the migratory period. In sum, the GOK has spent 10.5
million KZT (about $780,000) on its response to AI. Local
media are reporting that market prices for poultry and eggs
are rising in some areas, particularly for imports. No/no
further reports of AI have been made since August 18. No/no
indications of AI transmission to a human have been noted in
Kazakhstan since last report. End Summary.

NKO Outbreak Continues to Grow
--------------


2. (U) On August 18, the Ministry of Agriculture announced
that the AI situation in North Kazakhstan Oblast is
serious, and that measures taken to isolate
domesticated birds from wild birds are not being
implemented adequately. The Ministry's press release
named villages where Ministry inspectors observed
domesticated birds not being kept in fenced areas,
and faulted the Ministry's own attempts to advise
farmers on what to do. In the villages of Dubrovnoye
(Mamlyutskiy district) and Talakper (Yesilskiy
district),the Ministry confirmed the presence of
H5N1 AI among domesticated fowl.


3. (U) The cases in Dubrovnoye and Talakper led to the
destruction of 2,711 animals in the former and 3,193 in the
latter. These numbers are significant because according to
the Agriculture Ministry, only 9,056 birds had been culled
cumulatively as of August 17. The actions in Dubrovnoye and
Talakper bring the total number of reported cullings to
14,960; the two villages account for 40% of the total.

Latest Agriculture Ministry Actions
--------------


4. (U) The director of the Agriculture Ministry's veterinary
department, Dr. Asylbek Kazhmuratov announced at an August
16 press conference that the GOK had spent 10.5 million KZT
(about $780,000) on the AI epidemic so far. Two thirds of
that money had been spent on protective clothing and
operating expenses for sanitation personnel. The remaining
funds, he said, were spent on disinfecting households and
providing compensation for destroyed flocks.


5. (U) At the same press conference, Kazhmuratov announced a
ban on fall bird hunting. The GOK should confirm this in a
decree in the very near future. Normally the fall hunting
season runs for two weeks in October.

Poultry Prices Climbing
--------------


6. (U) Local media are also reporting increases of 10-15%
or more in prices for poultry and eggs in some markets.
Traders in markets assure customers that the chicken and
eggs they are selling are not from the affected regions of
the country. According to the largest poultry wholesaler in
South Kazakhstan, the retail traders must be adding a
premium for this guarantee, because the wholesale price has
not changed. Prices for products imported from the U.S.
have increased as well - in one week, the price of U.S.
chicken legs has jumped from 260 to 300 KZT per kilogram, a
15.4% increase. (Comment: The rise in prices may reflect
decreased supply due to restrictions on transporting or
selling poultry and eggs from the affected oblasts.
However, the increasing prices could also be read somewhat
optimistically as an indication that demand remains constant
despite the situation. End comment.)

GOK Response Organization
--------------


7. (SBU) As the AI epidemic has spread, the GOK has
formalized the structure of its interagency response. While
the Ministry of Agriculture is the most directly involved
Ministry, policy issues are worked out at the interagency
level. Overall coordination is performed by the secretariat
of the Security Council. Additionally, a coordinating
committee has been established with representation from the
Ministries of Emergency Situations, Agriculture, Healthcare,
Interior and the Border Guards ( a directorate of the
Committee for National Security, or KNB.) The chairman of
the coordinating committee is First Deputy Minister of
Emergency Situations Nurakhmet Bezhanov.


9. (SBU) Outside organizations are also contributing to the
GOK's response, including the International Epizootic Bureau
(OIE),and the World Health Organization. However, their
contributions have been relatively minor - most likely
because of the significant differences in scale between the
epidemics in Kazakhstan and Russia.


10. (U) Dushanbe Minimize considered.

ASQUINO


NNNN