TAJIKISTAN: STOPPING AVIAN FLU AT ITS BORDERS WITH NO

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001779 SIPDIS STATE PLEASE PASS TO EUR/CACEN, SA, USAID FOR DENNIS CARROLL, NATHAN BLAUCKET E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV EAGR ECON EAID TBIO KSCA SOCI TI KSTH WHO SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN: STOPPING AVIAN FLU AT ITS BORDERS WITH NO MONEY ¶1. To date, Tajikistan has no reported cases of Avian Flu. The Ministries of Health and Agriculture as well as the country's Veterinary Services have taken stringent measures to stop Avian Flu from entering Tajikistan's borders. ¶2. The Veterinary Service has begun to capture and examine wild birds along the country's borders with Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for the Avian Flu virus. Tajikistan has banned imports of chicken from ten countries including Russia and Kazakhstan. Alternatively, they have imported 190 tons of chicken meat from the United States (Tyson's chickens are already showing up in the supermarkets) and Iran. The government is working on developing its internal reserves of chicken in order not to rely on imports. Mullodzhon Amirbekov, Tajikistan's chief veterinarian, reports that illegal poultry imports still continue. A quarantine has been in place since mid-October on Tajikistan's five largest poultry farms. ¶3. The Deputy Minister of Health, Zievuddin Avgonov, told PolOff in order to implement an effective vaccination plan for the entire country, at least 25% of the population would need to be vaccinated, costing upwards of $6 million. They have applied to several NGOs for funding, but have not received a response. In addition, the Ministry of Health has organized a roundtable on the topic of Avian Flu that was broadcast on public television. They are working on developing education materials for widespread public dissemination as well as to target medical professionals, but lack the funding for publication. ¶4. Tajikistan is taking this threat of a pandemic seriously and is cooperating with regional governments as well as developing domestic strategies to stop the expansion of the disease. However, they lack the funds needed to implement their planned programs. HOAGLAND NNNN