KUWAIT AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE: GOK MEASURES FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 004673

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR OES/PCI, OES/IHA
HHS FOR OGHA STEIGER/BHAT
CDC FOR BLOUNT/JANI/LEDUC/NCOX/ARTHUR
GENEVA FOR WHO
USDA PASS FSIS AND APHIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD AMED KPAO PREL CASC KSCA SENV TBIO KU WHO FAO
SUBJECT: KUWAIT AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE: GOK MEASURES FOR
VIRUS DETECTION

REF: KUWAIT 4516


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On October 30, Emboffs and two U.S.
military veterinarians met with the Deputy Director General
for Animal Resources to discuss the GOK's efforts to combat
the spread of the Avian Influenza (AI) virus. The GOK has
teams of inspectors that routinely inspect farms and bird
markets, and additional teams collect to dead birds and test
them for the presence of AI. The Embassy team raised U.S.
military concerns about the safety and availability of
poultry products crossing into Iraq as food supplies for
troops, and also discussed GOK concerns about vehicles and
materiel returning to Kuwait from Iraq possibly carrying the
virus. END SUMMARY


2. (SBU) On October 30, Econcouns, Medoff, Econoff
(notetaker),U.S. Customs Advisor, and two U.S. military
veterinarians met with the Public Authority for Agricultural
Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) Deputy Director for
Animal Resources Dr. Mohammed Al-Muhanna to discuss his
agency's efforts to guard against the spread of AI among live
birds in Kuwait. Al-Muhanna heads the Agriculture Committee
on AI and is a member of the main committee (reftel) tasked
with formulating a comprehensive response plan. Al-Muhanna
explained that the room in which the meeting was held was the
PAAAFR's "control room" and is staffed 24 hours a day. On
October 25, the main committee established a hotline for
callers encountering dead birds, and Al-Muhanna pointed out
three telephones in the room that such calls are routed to.
(NOTE: RSO at Post called the hotline on October 29 when
several dead chickens were spotted at a homeowners chicken
coop just outside the Embassy gate. A PAAAFR team responded
quickly and collected the birds to test for AI; the tests
were negative.)


3. (SBU) Econcouns asked for, and Al-Muhanna provided, a
copy of the PAAAFR's response plan, which constitutes one
portion of the GOK's overall plan. He mentioned that the
plan included budget allocations for more equipment if AI
appears in Kuwait, and potential compensation to owners if a
cull is deemed necessary. Al-Muhanna complained of the
difficulties presented by the GOK jurisdictional structure,
specifically that while the PAAAFR is responsible for live
birds, once the birds are slaughtered, the Food Safety
Committee (FSC) (under the Municipality of Kuwait) is
responsible; Al-Muhanna's committee makes recommendations to
the (FSC) but he worried that the FSC might be slow to adopt
them.

DETAILS OF THE RESPONSE PLAN
--------------


4. (SBU) The response plan provided by Al-Muhanna states
that the PAAAFR has already disinfected all poultry farms and
markets with virucidal agents, collected blood and fecal
samples, and has informed all relevant GOK entities
(including border quarantine stations, customs, and civil
aviation authorities) of the seriousness of AI. The plan
also provides for inspection teams, the aforementioned
hotline, and a virology lab dedicated to testing AI samples.
It calls for a ban on poultry products from infected
countries, restrictions on hunting, and mandatory reporting
by poultry farmers of sick birds or sick laborers.


5. (SBU) In the event of an AI outbreak on a Kuwaiti farm,
the plan calls for a quarantine (with a 2km radius) and
immediate disinfecting of the infected farm, the farm
laborers to be referred to the Infectious Disease Hospital,
and culling of the birds. If an outbreak occurs at a
slaughter house, all birds will be culled and the facility
disinfected. In the event of any outbreak in the country,
the movement of laborers between farms will be prohibited,
healthy birds will be given an AI vaccine (if available by
then),the public zoo will be closed, and all bird markets
shuttered. In addition, the plan calls for a public
awareness campaign.

INSPECTION TEAMS
--------------


6. (SBU) Al-Muhanna explained that the PAAAFR currently has
10 inspection teams, each including a veterinary assistant,
which conduct inspections at farms, homes, bird markets, and
sites where migratory birds and ducks gather, to check the
birds and collect fecal samples; thus far all samples have
been negative. The tests are conducted at a PAAAFR
laboratory, adjacent to the control room, which is also
staffed 24 hours a day. Al-Muhanna showed Emboffs one of the
fecal-sample collection kits, one of 50,000 PAAAFR has on
hand, and stated that more diagnostic equipment is on order
including on-site testing kits. Al-Muhanna said that there
are also 10 other teams that spray the disinfectant Vercon-S
(effective in killing the AI virus but not harmful to humans
or animals) every month on farms, markets, and houses where
birds are raised, and weekly at local bird markets. He also
said that the PAAAFR is still working on the response plan's
media campaign to inform the public and guard against panic.
He stated that the materials will be available in Arabic, but
that he would like to have them in Bengali, Urdu, Tagalog,
Sinhalese, and English as well; these are the major languages
spoken by Kuwait's expatriate community, roughly 65% of the
population.

POULTRY BAN CLARIFIED
--------------


7. (SBU) When asked to clarify the recent import ban on
poultry products, Al-Muhanna said that the ban breaks down as
follows:

-- All waterfowl and "fancy birds" (parrots, etc.) from all
countries are banned.
-- All poultry products, including live birds, slaughtered,
frozen meat, and eggs from countries with reported AI cases
are banned.
-- The PAAAFR has canceled all pre-import licenses. In order
to allow close scrutiny of importers, all importing companies
must now re-apply for licenses. Al-Muhanna said that these
applications will be checked closely and new licenses will be
issued to those importers that meet strict safety criteria.

FALCON HUNTING A CAUSE FOR CONCERN
--------------


8. (SBU) Al-Muhanna said that, as called for in the response
plan, hunting wild and migratory birds is now banned. He
worried about the Kuwaiti pastime of hunting with falcons,
since the falcons may come in contact with infected migratory
birds. In an effort to stem the potential threat from
falcons, Al-Muhanna said that the PAAAFR has announced that
Kuwaitis would be permitted to take their falcons out of the
country (for hunting),but would not be allowed to bring them
back in. The U.S. Customs Advisor asked Al-Muhanna about the
time-lag between announcing the ban (October 25th) and its
implementation by Kuwaiti Customs, to which Al-Muhanna
replied that, while a long delay would be expected in normal
times, because of close coordination among ministries on the
AI committee, Customs' reaction was immediate.

AL-MUHANNA WORRIED ABOUT AI FROM IRAQ
--------------


9. (SBU) Al-Muhanna stated that both he and the committee
are concerned about AI entering Kuwait via border crossings;
two with Saudi Arabia, two seaports (Shuwaikh and Doha),and
the airport. Particularly, he noted his concern that AI may
enter via U.S. military vehicles crossing in Kuwait at
Coalition Crossing from Iraq, especially given Iraq's current
lack of regulatory framework, inspectors, diagnostic labs,
and the large number of migratory birds attracted to the
marshes in Southern Iraq.


10. (SBU) Responding to Al-Muhanna's concerns, the U.S.
military veterinarian replied that the virus cannot survive
without a live host if exposed to the Kuwait/Iraq dry
climate, and that disinfecting every vehicle that crosses the
border with Vercon-S would result in enormous delays. The
military veterinarian did offer to allow the trucks' cargo to
be inspected. Al-Muhanna asked about bird feces which may be
brought into Kuwait on the trucks' tires, and proposed to
construct a concrete-lined trench filled with disinfectant
(Vercon-S) that the trucks would drive through to disinfect
their tires, noting the technique's effectiveness in the U.K.
during the 'hoof and mouth' outbreak. The veterinarian
replied that such a trench would take some time to set-up and
for the concrete to cure, but could be a reasonable
compromise, if warranted.


11. (SBU) Al-Muhanna recommended checking with CDC or WHO to
see if constructing a trench would be effective (NOTE: In a
subsequent telephone conversation, the U.S. Agriculture
Attach in Dubai (with regional responsibilities) was
skeptical that a trench would be worthwhile, given the dry
climate and the fact that the virus will likely be spread by
migratory birds, not border traffic. Post will follow up
with CDC/WHO to get their assessment of the idea. END NOTE)
The military veterinarian expressed his concerns that U.S.
poultry shipments for troops in Iraq not be interrupted, to
which Al-Muhanna replied that as long as the poultry is
sourced from a non-infected country there would be no
problems. (NOTE: At present all poultry entering Kuwait and
Iraq as military food supply is sourced from the U.S., and
all eggs are from Kuwait.)


12. (SBU) Al-Muhanna mentioned that he has been in contact
with the Arabian Organization for Agricultural Development
(AOAD),and that the organization is holding an AI training
course in December in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which the GOK
plans to attend. One of Al-Muhanna's inspectors is also
going to the U.S. for a USDA AI detection course in November.

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