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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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