AVIAN INFLUENZA: BURMA UPDATE: OCTOBER 27, 2005

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001219

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO SENV AMED CASC KSCA BM
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: BURMA UPDATE: OCTOBER 27, 2005

REF: A. RANGOON 1157

B. RANGOON 1038

C. RANGOON 1036

D. STATE 193506


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The public in Burma is waking up to new
stories and rumors about Avian Influenza (AI),prompting
sudden fluctuations in poultry prices in some Rangoon markets
this week. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has
been working closely with the GOB's Livestock Breeding and
Veterinary Department (LBVD) to track these rumors and
reports of bird deaths in Burma. FAO has shared a copy of
the latest LBVD report with post. Nonetheless, the people of
Burma remain largely in the dark about the threat of AI, and
the government continues to insist there are no indications
of AI in Burma, even as it crops up in neighboring nations
and the principal migratory routes for wild birds in Siberia
and western China pass over this country. Post has conducted
town meetings and circulated the latest Department guidance
on AI to the small American community in Burma, but medical
facilities in country are grossly unprepared to cope with
even normal health emergencies, much less a pandemic. End
summary.


2. (U) Rumors have been circulating around Rangoon for the
past week that the price of chicken in local markets has
dropped dramatically due to illness or death among local
chickens. Emboffs and FSNs did some spot checking this week
of local supermarkets and outdoor "wet markets" and found
that the price of "Burmese chicken" (traditional "backyard"
fowl) has increased by 300 kyat (US 0.30) per bird while the
price of commercially raised broilers has decreased by 300
kyat per bird. While health and agricultural experts have
advised us that chickens raised in the open are actually more
vulnerable to infection from wild birds than are commercial
broilers, raised indoors under controlled conditions (ref B),
the Burmese public does not seem to realize this; many
believes that local free-range birds are safer than those
mass-produced at chicken farms. We have found no indications
that the price fluctuations are more than a seasonal
phenomenon, compounded by public superstition about AI after
hearing news of recent outbreaks overseas.


3. (SBU) The FAO office in Rangoon reports that the
Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department issued a report
in September that addressed the causes of recently
fluctuating chicken prices in local markets. The report
concluded that the price fluctuation was primarily due to
seasonal factors, such as weather, and not outbreaks of AI.
LBVD reported to FAO this week that they have not received
reports of any suspected AI outbreaks in Burma to date. We
have obtained a copy of the LBVD report in Burmese and are
having relevant portions translated; we will submit copies to
interested parties upon request. Burmese media, all of which
is heavily censored by the Ministry of Information, have paid
modest attention to stories about AI in Europe and elsewhere
in Asia (usually buried in the international news section,
never on the front page),but there has been no mention of
any cases or suspected cases in Burma. Many Burmese citizens
are only learning about AI for the first time in recent
months and, in the absence of government information on how
to recognize the disease or take health precautions, are
relying on rumors alone to guide their actions.


4. (U) Embassy distributed the latest Department guidance on
AI (ref D) to all 100 members of the American community
registered with the U.S. Embassy on October 25 via the
Consular Section's monthly newsletter; the Embassy also held
a Town Hall meeting on September 27 during the visit of our
Bangkok-based RMO to provide information to the American
community, both official and private, on AI. RMO Keyes
provided information on viral epidemics, the transmission of
viruses from animals to humans and the behavior of the H5N1
virus to the 50 attendees. He also described the history of
AI in the region and recommended precautions individuals can
take in the event of a flu outbreak, referring the audience
to the WHO and CDC websites for the latest information.
Emboffs also briefed the community on the need for Amcits to
make advance preparations and be vigilant to the AI threat in
Burma, since the GOB was unlikely to freely share health
information with the public. We also advised that medical
infrastructure in the country is inadequate to respond to the
challenge of a major epidemic. Attendees at the Town Hall
meeting received copies of the WHO's "FAQs About Avian
Influenza" and the CDC's "Interim Guidance About Avian
Influenza for U.S. Citizens Living Abroad."


5. (SBU) COMMENT: Burma is particularly vulnerable to AI,
given its proximity to countries already feeling the effects
of the disease and exacerbated by the governing regime's
unwillingness to share information on any sensitive or
embarrassing topic with the world or with its own public, and
the GOB's lack of inclination to cooperate with other nations
on this global threat. Burma already faces a public health
crisis from many other communicable diseases; if AI takes
hold here, the system will become overburdened quickly. The
Embassy continues to provide the latest information to the
American community in country and prepare contingency plans.
At the present time, we have received no reliable indications
that AI has reached Burma, but there is much in this country
that we do not know and cannot easily learn. End comment.

STOLTZ