CROATIA TAKES REGIONAL ROLE IN AVIAN INFLUENZA, BEGINS

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001332 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR DS/DSS, DS/IP, M/MED/JCTRIPLETT FAS/CMP/DLP WETZEL AND MAGGINNIS FAS/ITP/EAMED POMEROY AND FLEMING CA/OCS/ACS KIM CHRISTMAN USAID FOR E&E/ECA/B/ANNE CONVERY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO SENV ECON EAGR PREL CASC KFLU HR SUBJECT: CROATIA TAKES REGIONAL ROLE IN AVIAN INFLUENZA, BEGINS ACTIVE MONITORING REF: 001241 and previous ¶1. SUMMARY: Although there have been no new incidents of the H5N1 virus in Croatia, the country's designated avian influenza lab has begun active monitoring of wild birds as well as testing poultry suppliers on request. The director of the Poultry Center at the Croatian Veterinary Institute said he also is initiating collaborative testing among 10 countries in southeastern Europe and plans to start a regional information-sharing network. END SUMMARY ¶2. Dr. Vladimir Savic, Poultry Center director, told Econoffs that the lab began active monitoring of birds in their habitats on Oct. ¶21. Dr. Savic said Puris, a domestic poultry supplier, requested that the lab test its poultry. Puris is one of the suppliers to Metro, a German supermarket chain that now requires all of its suppliers to test their poultry. Dr. Savic said he expects to be contacted by other poultry farms in Croatia and that other supermarket chains will follow suit. ¶3. Under Dr. Savic's direction, the Poultry Center also is initiating a "ring test." Designated labs in several other countries will test the same samples to ensure they are using equal standards in identifying H5N1 virus. The ring test will be announced in November and will be conducted in January. He said already Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Hungary and Poland have agreed to participate. Dr. Savic said a ring test is one of the requirements for International Standardization Organization (ISO) certification of the lab. Dr. Savic also is working on establishing an information-sharing network to directly connect labs in the region. He said this will enable him to receive information immediately from his counterparts in other countries instead of waiting for information to be released by one of the international organizations. ¶5. Although there is no specific reason to believe bird flu will resurface in Croatia, he said the virus is still a concern in the region and Croatia will continue in its proactive role. Unusually warm weather has delayed bird migration this year, Dr. Savic said. BRADTKE