MONGOLIAN AVIAN FLU DECEMBER 2007

UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000016 SIPDIS USDA FOR FAS/DLP, FAS/ITP, FAS/ICD STATE FOR EAP/CM, OES/IHA, AND CA/OCS STATE PLEASE PASS TO CDC STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE/EA BANGKOK FOR USAID FOR RDM/A E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO CASC EAID PGOV SENV KFLU MG SUBJECT: MONGOLIAN AVIAN FLU DECEMBER 2007 Ref: ULAANBAATAR 268 CURRENT STATUS -------------- ¶1. There have been no suspected outbreaks of H5N1 in Mongolia's wild waterfowl and poultry. There have been no transmissions to humans. The ban on importing poultry products from China remains in place. Also, the ban does not include poultry products from third countries imported through Russia and China. ¶2. A report from Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)-led Avian Influenza (HPAI) surveillance effort in Mongolia's wild bird population can be found on the following WCS Global Avian Influenza Network for Surveillance (GAINS) website: http://www.gains.org/. Samples collected from wild birds surveyed in Mongolia in 2007 are currently undergoing testing in the United States. RNA extractions have been completed on approximately 1,000 samples and are currently being submitted for RT-PCR at laboratories at the University of California, Davis. Testing of serum samples will begin in January at the USDA-ARS laboratories in Athens, Georgia. As results of laboratory analyses are received these will be shared immediately with partners at the Mongolian State Central Veterinary Laboratory and the Mongolian Veterinary Department. With their approval, laboratory results will then be shared with the wider avian influenza community through the GAINS website. ¶3. The first report of the re-sighting of a Bar-headed goose captured and marked by the WCS GAINS team in Mongolia in the summer of 2007 was received in December. The male Bar-headed goose was tagged with the collar E6 on July 19, 2007, in the Darkhad Valley of Hovsgol aimag (N: 99.41078, E: 51.19736). He was one of 50 Bar-headed Geese fitted with collars in July, and is the first for which re-sighting information has been received. Based on the information given, the bird has traveled a direct line distance of ~4,780 km to India. ¶4. Dr. Tungalag, a Mongolian participant in the International Course on Trans-boundary Animal Disease (ICTAD) organized by USDA/APHIS in August 2007, informed the U.S. Embassy that she plans to organize a Trans-boundary Animal Disease Course including Avian Influenza for relevant Mongolian government officials and specialists, and students of the University of Agriculture in March 2008. GOLDBECK