FW: NEPAL: Avian influenza outbreak contained but risks remain

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From my WB sources:

 

> NEPAL: Avian influenza outbreak contained but risks remain

>

> KATHMANDU, 17 February 2009 (IRIN) - The H5NI virus has been brought under

> control after a month-long outbreak in poultry in Jhapa district, nearly 500km

> south-east of the capital, according to government officials.

>

> The first confirmed case of bird flu

> [see: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82577] reported in this

> Himalayan nation was confirmed on 16 January in Kakarvitta town, Jhapa.

>

> The government responded swiftly by culling more than 23,000 chickens as well

> as hundreds of pigeons, ducks and parrots, and destroying over 5,000 eggs and

> hundreds of sacks of feed, according to the Ministry of Health.

>

> The swift response by a joint team of staff from the Ministry of Agriculture

> and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Health and Population and the UN World

> Health

> Organization (WHO) swiftly contained the epidemic, said government officials.

>

> " We have already banned production, consumption, sale and transportation of

> poultry products in Jhapa, " said Manash Kumar Banarjee, coordinator of the

> World

> Bank-supported and government-run Avian Influenza Control Project (AICP).

>

> As an added precaution, the government conducted bird flu assessments in

> major

> cities, including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Surkhet, Rupendehi, Biratnagar and

> Sindhuli, where there are large poultry markets, but found no evidence of the

> virus after examining more than 100 samples, according to the AICP.

>

> " The bird flu outbreak has been contained for now, " said Pravakar Pathak,

> director of the government-run Department of Livestock Services.

>

> Risks

>

> However, the potential for new outbreaks is great, according to avian

> influenza

> specialists.

>

> A team of experts from the UN Crisis Management Centre-Animal Health (CMC-AH)

> visited the country recently. CMC-AH [ see:

> www.fao.org/emergencies/programmes/CMC-AH] was established in October2006 by

> the

> UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with the World Organisation for

> Animal Health (OIE) to enhance FAO's ability to help countries prevent and

> cope

> with disease outbreaks.

>

> The CMC-AH team stated after their assessment that while the government's

> response was efficient and thorough, there were still major risks of

> outbreaks.

>

> " The response has been robust and with impressive speed but there is still a

> need for . heightened awareness, " said David Hadrill, mission leader of

> CMC-AH.

>

> Government officials have also said the country remained at risk given that

> its

> neighbours, particularly China and India, have a history of bird flu

> outbreaks.

> Nepal's huge poultry industry also relies largely on imports from West Bengal

> and Bihar in India.

>

> Ongoing concerns

>

> Government officials expressed concern over the critical shortage of trained

> veterinarians, the lack of adequate laboratories for testing and supplies of

> disinfectants for spraying contaminated areas. There is also a lack of

> communication equipment to increase public awareness about prevention

> measures,

> they said.

>

> The CMC-AH team agreed there was an urgent need for more lab equipment,

> facility upgrades and consumables to safely and effectively perform diagnostic

> assessments. It has recommended the Nepalese government consider scenario

> planning and a financial fund to deal with multiple outbreaks should they

> occur.

>

>

> It added that the surveillance was very crucial in the coming months and more

> resources should be allocated to training. The government is already planning

> a

> three-month-long surveillance campaign in the affected areas of east Nepal.

>

> " Fortunately, the bird flu occurred in only one place [Jhapa]. We would be

> unable to control the outbreak if it had taken place in more than three places

> [simultaneously], " a government official, who requested anonymity, told IRIN.

>

> nn/bj/mw[END]

>

>

>

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