UPDATE: SUSPECTED AVIAN INFLUENZA CASES IN THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANJUL 000174

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES NANCY POWELL
USDA ALSO FOR APHIS
ACCRA FOR USAID/WARP
ROME FOR FODAG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016
TAGS: TBIO KFLU EAID AMED EAGR GA
SUBJECT: UPDATE: SUSPECTED AVIAN INFLUENZA CASES IN THE
GAMBIA

REF: BANJUL 132 (NOTAL)

Classified By: Consular Section Chief Christopher Zimmer, reason 1.4 (b
and d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Suspected AI cases, fi(s" e o*ted in reftel
on March 1, 2006, have yet tt be sent for testing, according
to FAO and Government of The Gambia (GOTG) sources. The FAO
country representative referred to the outcome as a
politically-motivated decision that contradicted the advice
of medical experts. FAO and Ministry of Health (MOH) sources
expressed frustration with perceived inaction by senior GOTG
officials over AI preparations. Post, in coordination with
UN agencies and others, will continue to press the GOTG to
address AI precautions. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) FAO Resident Representative Mr. David Bowen, reported
to Conoff on March 17, 2006 that dead birds were not sent on
March 1st to London for testing for AI as originally
suggested (reftel). He alleged that politically-motivated
decisions were made by unspecified senior GOTG officials not
to send the samples for testing. No testing facilities
currently exist in The Gambia and all samples must be sent to
Senegal or OIE reference laboratories.


3. (C) While the Minister and Permanent Secretaries for
Health both denied the existence of any suspected cases, a
senior official in the MOH's Epidemiology and Disease Control
unit confirmed to Conoff that GOTG was holding samples of
dead birds that he referred to as suspected cases. He
expressed frustration with both the Minister and the recently
appointed PermSec, saying that they were not trained
epidemiologists and did not understand the ramifications of
delaying the diagnosis of a potential AI outbreak.


4. (C) FAO's Bowen also expressed frustration with requests
for funding coming from GOTG. He said FAO has USD 20,000
available for urgent assistance, but the GOTG request was for
fuel and phone cards rather than for personal protective
equipment, vaccines, disinfectants, and other equipment that
is lacking in The Gambia. (NOTE: The latest draft of the AI
action plan under development by GOTG designates one million
US dollars, or more than one-third of its USD 2.7 million
budget, for new vehicles, fuel, and equipment for various
government agencies. The draft plan is reported septel. END
NOTE.) He also noted that an offer by the Medical Research
Council (MRC) to seek funding for conversion of a laboratory
to run basic AI testing was brushed aside by the Minister of
Health as he prefers equipping the Royal Victoria Teaching
Hospital (RVTH) with a new laboratory. Although RVTH is The
Gambia's primary medical facility, it is very basic and its
resources are already stretched thin. The MRC, by contrast,
is an internationally known tropical disease research
institute with several highly-skilled virologists on staff.


5. (C) Post also received confirmation that many of the
samples came from the Tanji area (an atlantic coastal area
near Banjul) where embassy staff reported seeing unusually
high levels of dead birds at the end of February. This
information was passed to the Minister of Health on February

28. At the time, the Minister claimed these were baseless
rumors.


6. (C) COMMENT: With Gambia hosting the mid-term Africa Union
Summit at the end of June and the Gambian economy's heavy
reliance on tourism and agriculture, GOTG officials are wary
of anything that could be detrimental to the country's image.
While the trained epidemiologists in MOH seem genuinely
concerned with testing for and containing AI, the actions of
the senior officials are a cause for concern. Post will
continue to work with the UN agencies and other missions to
push GOTG officals to address AI precautions. END COMMENT.
STAFFORD