NEPAL'S PREPAREDNESS FOR AVIAN FLU; DELIVERY OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 002361 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/INS NSC FOR GREEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2015 TAGS: TBIO KSCA SENV EAGR ECON PREL NP WHO FAO SUBJECT: NEPAL'S PREPAREDNESS FOR AVIAN FLU; DELIVERY OF IPAPI SUMMARY REPORT REF: A. SECSTATE 195603 ¶B. KATHMANDU 2113 Classified By: Classified by Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 b/d SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) His Majesty's Government of Nepal (HMGN) is working through a Task Force established in 2004 to upgrade its capacity to handle an avian flu outbreak, but Nepali officials worry about what resources may be available to assist with Nepal's preparedness. While no cases of avian flu have been identified in Nepal, rumors of the disease have already hurt the poultry industry, whose sales have declined by thirty percent. Press and government both continue to focus on avian influenza in the media. MissionOffs delivered the Chairman's Summary of the first Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) for the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, and the Reports of the Working Group Rapporteurs (ref A) to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health. END SUMMARY. NEPAL'S TASK FORCE ON AVIAN INFLUENZA -------------- ¶2. (SBU) As reported in ref B, no human or animal cases of avian influnza have been discovered in Nepal to date. Nepal formed a Task Force on Avian Influenza in January 2004 to develop prevention and control strategies. The Task Force included the Director General of the Department of Health Services as Chair Person; the Director General of Livestock Services as Coordinator; the Director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division as Member Secretary; and chiefs or representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Department of Animal Health, poultry farmers, and the Consumer Forum. The Task Force had held several meetings to discuss and execute activities to survey both human and animal health facilities and laboratories, raise public awareness, and develop guidelines for health facilities on case recognition, reporting and management. The Department of Animal Health had performed "active surveillance" of suspected cases reported from farm areas. In addition, the Task Force has circulated World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on the prevention and control of Avian Influenza for the preparedness of laboratory diagnosis, surveillance and case management. MFA ASKS WHETHER HELP AVAILABLE -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Emboff and USAID Health and Child Survival Advisor delivered on October 26 the Chairman's Summary of the first Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) for the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, and the Reports of the Working Group Rapporteurs (ref A),to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Americas Officer Rajaram Bartaula as well as to Acting Director General, Department of Health Services, Dr. Mahendra Bahadur Bista. Bartaula noted that the Royal Nepalese Embassy in Washington had sent a representative to the October 6-7 meeting. He stressed that the Nepalese government was emphasizing information-sharing on this issue, and that he would forward the information to the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, and Home. ¶4. (C) The MFA official asked whether funds might be available to assist with Nepal's preparedness for a possible avian flu outbreak. We explained that USAID was in the process of conducting a global assessment of each nation's preparedness and needs. Bartaula commented that the issue of compensation to farmers remained key to maintaining control of any outbreaks, as farmers might be tempted to hide poultry or other animals from extermination, absent economic incentive. HEALTH MINISTRY PREPARING FOR AI, BUT STILL NOT READY -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Ministry of Health's (MOH) Bista stated that he would share the information Emboff presented with all members at the October 31 meeting of the government Task Force on Avian Influenza. He noted that Nepal's active Red Cross Society had recently joined the Task Force. The MOH was providing training to mid-level health workers and staff nurses to be able to identify and collect samples for avian flu testing, Bista stated, and added that the MOH hoped to have staff in up to forty-five districts trained by the end of November. Bista said that Nepal also had established an early warning system in twenty-eight major hospitals to identify any outbreaks. Bista remarked that the World Health Organization (WHO) was active in Nepal assisting with upgrading the country's surveillance mechanisms to identify and investigate potential avian influenza outbreaks in both animals and humans, as well as necessary procedures for outbreak containment and management. ¶6. (SBU) Showing an avian flu brochure, which the MOH had published and distributed 100,000 copies to the public one year ago, Bista lamented that his Ministry did not have the resources to update and reprint it. He noted, however, that the Nepali Red Cross was drafting a one page informational sheet for the general public. While Nepal had been preparing for a possible avian flu outbreak for some time, Bista admitted that Nepal could still improve its capabilities in surveillance, quarantine, manpower/capacity building, and communication mechanisms. NEPALI PRESS COVERING AI; RUMORS OF BIRD FLU HURT POULTRY INDUSTRY -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Avian influenza continues to be a major news item in the Nepali press. HMGN is conducting a public awareness campaign on avian influenza to promote preparedness. A front-page story in the Kathmandu Post revealed that the government had banned the import of birds and "bird-products" from all countries until further notice, following outbreaks of Avian Flu in over a dozen countries in Southeast Asia and Europe. Even though there have been no confirmed cases of avian influenza in Nepal, the public has already responded economically to rumors of avian influenza. ¶8. (U) News reports published October 25 indicated that, based solely on rumors of bird flu, chicken sales in Nepal had declined by thirty percent, jeopardizing an industry worth NRS 16 billion (USD 229 million). "People are being unnecessarily panicky," asserted Narayan Hari Khatri of Asapuri Hatchery, noting that the loss in sales was also driving down the price of chicken. The "psychological impact" of bird flu, Pashupati Dahal of Nepal Hatchery and Breeding Pvt. Ltd. stated, had led to a "hefty 50 percent decline in sales" at his farm. Government is using the media also to protect its poultry industry, already badly hit by rumors of bird flu. In an effort to convince consumers that Nepal's poultry was safe to eat, MOH's Bista had appeared on public television eating a chicken leg. COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Nepal has plans for monitoring domestic bird populations, but if there is an outbreak of avian influenza, the country faces difficulty with access to much of its rural population due to its unique geography and the ongoing Maoist insurgency. The Ministry of Health has a general, outbreak-focused rapid response team in each of Nepal's seventy-five districts; however, Nepal should strengthen its surveillance system through the creation of fixed or roving teams to identify disease outbreaks, with a special focus on avian influenza. MORIARTY