CHAD: PREPAREDNESS FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 001561 SIPDIS PARIS AND LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS, ROME FOR FODAG. ACCRA FOR WARP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV CD SUBJECT: CHAD: PREPAREDNESS FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA REF: TAMLYN-COONEY E-MAIL 10/20/05 ¶1. Summary: Chad does not have an effective animal health surveillance system and will be relying on donor support and international organizations to identify and respond to any potential outbreak of avian influenza. Lake Chad and its tributaries attract large numbers of migrating birds (in particular, wild ducks and storks) October through December. Chad does not have a large domestic poultry sector. End Summary. ¶2. DCM met with Dr. Yao Kassankogo, Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Dr. Mamadou Diallo, Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 10/19 to discuss Chad's preparedness for a possible spread of avian influenza. Both WHO and FAO have well-developed relationships with counterparts in the Government of Chad (GOC) as a result of administering UN programs in Chad. ¶3. The Government of Chad has not officially recognized the implications of avian influenza, but reportedly some individual members of the relevant ministries understand the seriousness of the issue. FAO has sent out to the donor community two tranches of information in the last month on the situation world-wide, but there has been no media coverage and public awareness is low to non-existent. ¶4. Both WHO and FAO reps have been in touch with their counterparts over the last week to discuss the need to establish national mechanisms. The GOC does not at this time have either a national preparedness plan or a national task force. FAO is proposing creation of a multi-sectoral task force (to include animal and human health) headed by the Ministry of Animal Production (french: "elevage.") The FAO is also working with the GOC to get out a request for technical assistance in order to develop a national plan. Dr. Diallo hoped that this request would be ready by October ¶24. FAO will share the GOC request with the Embassy. The GOC request should contain additional information on the local avian situation (wild and domesticated),including on species expected to migrate through Lake Chad. ¶5. The GOC is not well-equipped for surveillance. Borders are not well policed. Slaughterhouses in the two main cities (N'Djamena and Abeche) are essentially the only points of animal health control. Poultry is not raised on an industrial scale and is privately slaughtered. The GOC has very little capacity to rapidly collect, store and transport human or animal specimens for testing. Samples would need to go to Bangui (the Pasteur Institute) or to Paris or London. ¶6. The GOC does not have adequate capacity to quickly mobilize effective containment measures in response to outbreaks of animal disease. Asked to comment on areas of greatest need, FAO and WHO reps responded informally that assistance was need with surveillance and (if necessary) containment. Items suggested included: -- vehicles, fuel, assistance with samples and testing; -- assistance with providing public information on safe handling of infected animals; -- material and financial support in the event that large culls are needed. ¶7. Martin Wiese, a German geographer currently working as the Assistant Director at the Veterinary Laboratory in N'Djamena reported that the Lake Chad region and its tributaries are host to large numbers of southward-bound migrating birds, particularly wild ducks and storks. While poultry production is not widespread in Chad, much of it is concentrated near the Lake Chad tributaries. The next large migration is expected in November. WALL NNNN