JUNE 6 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001359 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS USDA FOR FAS/OA, FAS/DLP, FAS/ICD AND FAS/ITP USDA FOR APHIS USDA FOR WAYNE MOLSTAD/OSEC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU EAID AMED EAGR NI AVIANFLU SUBJECT: JUNE 6 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE REF: ABUJA 1097 ABUJA 00001359 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Summary. Nigeria experienced continued outbreaks of AI in Kano and Bauchi States in May, though the GON has not reported on these in detail. Some of these occurrences possibly were reinfections on poultry farms whose owners restocked too quickly and without carrying out proper decontamination procedures; the majority were likely infections from contaminated farms. At least 97 poultry flocks in Kano State have been culled. Nigeria's small poultry farmers likely will continue restocking their farms prematurely -- without waiting the required three months -- because they fear they are unlikely to be compensated for their losses. The GON acknowledged that despite existing procedures, there are "still haphazard arrangements about allocating responsibility for specific actions" once an AI outbreak is identified. End summary. ¶2. (U) Nigeria experienced continued outbreaks of the avian influenza (AI) in Kano and Bauchi States in May, although the Government of Nigeria (GON) has not reported these in detail. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) reported May 22 that AI outbreaks continued in Kano and Bauchi States -- and that these occurrences were reinfections on poultry farms caused by improper biosecurity. Details on Outbreak in Kano State -------------- ¶3. (U) There is conflicting information on the cause of at least one outbreak in Kano State. The Pan-African Program for the Control of Epizootics (PACE) coordinator at the MOA told the Lagos consulate agricultural attache on June 2 that "secondary infections" occurring in Kano and Bauchi States probably were contaminated farms infecting other farms, rather than premature restocking. These secondary infections thus constitute breaches of biosecurity. There was a substantial outbreak of AI on a large commercial farm of approximately 16,000 birds outside Kano City. This outbreak became evident on May 13, but the farm's owner did not report it until May 18. Federal and state animal surveillance did not detect the outbreak in the previous five days, and on May 18 a news report about the farm appeared on the Internet. This Internet report alerted the GON to the outbreak; as of May 18, no report had been made to the Department of Livestock by the Kano State veterinary service or by the PACE/National Animal Disease Information and Surveillance System component of the MOA. All birds on the farm were killed by H5N1 or were culled. The probable cause of this outbreak, according to the PACE coordinator, was a breach in biosecurity. On May 22, the Nigerian Veterinary Research Institute at Vom confirmed H5N1 in samples from the farm's poultry. At least 97 poultry flocks in Kano State have been culled. ¶4. (SBU) An official with the UK Department for International Development was in Kano in the week of May 22- 26 and said based on his observations that "restocking is continuing at infected farms." The owner of the aforementioned infected farm in Kano told him she was vaccinating her birds. She had not received compensation for her losses. According to the agricultural attache, Kano officials carried out no perimeter-control measures such as culling birds within a 5-km radius of the infected farm, thus making a nearby reinfection likely. It is likely that Nigeria's small poultry farmers will continue restocking their farms prematurely -- without waiting the required three months -- because they fear they may not be compensated for their losses. Bauchi State and Plateau State outbreaks -------------- ¶5. An outbreak was reported on May 18 on a poultry farm within Bauchi City. The flock consisted of 193 birds, and the MOA carried out culling and decontamination operations on May 18. The MOA is currently investigating three farms in Jos. On the three farms, on May 29, two birds of 700 died, two out of 800 birds died, and 160 of the 461 birds ABUJA 00001359 002.2 OF 002 died, respectively. Test results on birds from the Jos farms are pending. ¶6. The GON acknowledged on May 22 that despite standard operating procedures, there are "still haphazard arrangements about allocating responsibility for specific actions" once an AI outbreak is identified. Despite Nigeria's multiple outbreaks of AI in the second half of May, the GON's AI Crisis Management Center has not issued a news bulletin since May 5. FUREY