Turkey Avian Influenza Update - January 12

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000133 SIPDIS USAID FOR TROSTLE, BLANCHET AND CARROLL HHS FOR WSTEIGER/PBUDASHEWITZ FAS FOR ITP/MACKE/THOMAS, CMP/DLP/WETZEL, FAS/JDEVER FAS PASS FSIS AND APHIS VIENNA PASS APHIS BRUSSELS PASS APHIS/FERNANDEZ GENEVA PASS HEALTH ATTACHE ROME FOR US MISSION TO FAO SIPDIS E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: TBIO AMED EAID CASC SENV EAGR KPAO TU SUBJECT: Turkey Avian Influenza Update - January 12 Ref: ANKARA 118 AND PREVIOUS ANKARA 00000133 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. Summary. There are 18 human cases confirmed by local testing, so far, but no new deaths. There is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission. The geographic distribution of the confirmed cases continues to broaden with the two new cases in southeastern Turkey. Official sources now put at 24 the number of provinces with suspected or confirmed AI in birds, of which 11 have been confirmed by test results. Not all of these 11 may be H5N1, however. 350,000 birds have been culled and a Agriculture official told us the Ministry is now planning to cull all birds outside of commercial operations. The public information campaign continues to ramp up. End Summary. -------------- Cases in Humans -------------- ¶2. MOH official told us there are now 18 human cases that have tested positive locally for H5N1: besides the 15 previously-reported cases there are two new cases in Sanliurfa and Siirt (both in southeastern Turkey). The southeastern Turkey cases represent a continued geographic broadening: until now the confirmed human cases had been only in far eastern Turkey and north-central Anatolia. The eighteenth confirmed case is the third sibling of the original family in Dogubeyazit whose earlier test (based on nasal swabs) had come up negative. Now, testing based on body tissue confirmed H5N1, as had been suspected. This brings the total number of provinces with confirmed human cases to 9. No new deaths have been confirmed. There is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission. -------------- Animal cases: -------------- ¶3. A Ministry of Agriculture official told us that of the 24 provinces with confirmed or suspected AI in birds, only 11 have confirmed test results showing AI. The official said he believed that the cases that tested positive the birds did not necessarily test positive for H5N1 (it could just be H5). Press reports suggest a larger number of provinces--up to 28--have cases in birds. ¶4. 350,000 birds have been culled so far. The Ministry of Agriculture official also told us the Ministry is now ANKARA 00000133 002.2 OF 002 planning to cull all birds (presumably only domestic fowl) in Turkey outside of commercial operations. Separately, the Chamber of Commerce called for also culling some of the commercial operations' birds, as well as all other birds, for an estimated total of 8 million birds. For the commercial operations, the idea is for the GOT to compensate the companies, since the companies have limited storage capacity and can no longer afford to keep feeding the birds. ¶5. The Minister of Agriculture held a meeting with southeastern officials in the city of Diyarbarkir followed by a press conference. He said the map of confirmed cases reflects the pattern of bird migration, stressed the importance of education people and committed that people would be compensated for culled birds. -------------- Public Information Campaign -------------- ¶6. There are news reports that the public education campaign has reached all 81 provinces, with leaflets, posters, local and national radio and TV, and short films being used. There is a special effort to target children and parents. The authorities' efforts may often not be via mass media; many areas affected by AI are not reached by Turkish television, for example. We have some evidence that local authorities are addressing their constituents in Kurdish - for example in Dogubeyazit - and this would obviously be helpful with those rural citizens who may not speak or understand Turkish well. Our impression is that the authorities are doing a good job now of getting the word out, and post will seek opportunities in coming days to get a better sense of how effective the authorities' efforts are at the local level. ¶7. As discussed during Ambassador's consultations in Washington, post strongly urges the dispatch as soon as possible to Turkey and other countries in the region (e.g., the Caucasus) of an interagency and multi-disciplinary team to assess the operational effectiveness of Turkish and international work on the AI issue here, identify gaps and lessons learned, and make recommendations on possible bilateral assistance, technical assistance or other support in Turkey, as well as in the Caucasus countries. Wilson