Arrival of bird flu sparks concern

The arrival of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus strain in Nigeria has sparked concern over levels of preparedness and capacity to deal with a potential outbreak throughout southern Africa. According to a statement by the South African department of Agriculture, the country has banned poultry imports from Nigeria and all members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It stressed that South Africa was internationally recognised as being "avian influenza-free" and has strict measures in place to maintain that status, so "the outbreak poses no real threat to the country". But "other countries in the region are lagging behind, and bird flu is becoming more and more of a threat," Dr Bonaventure Mtei, Senior Livestock Expert at the South African Development Community (SADC) and sub-regional representative of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), told IRIN. "In terms of capacity, the OIE and SADC are particularly worried about Tanzania, Angola, DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo], Mozambique and Malawi. South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe are considered to have relatively strong capacity," Mtei remarked. "All countries take the matter very seriously, and all have established multi-sectoral task forces but some countries are more resource-constrained than others," noted a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). According to OCHA, prevention and preparedness activities throughout the region are being spearheaded by national governments, with support from international agencies where needed. Activities such as the surveillance, monitoring and containment of any outbreak among birds are being led by Ministries of Agriculture, Veterinary Departments and, in some cases, Wildlife Departments, with assistance from the Food and Agricultural Organisation and the OIE. On the human health side, the Ministry of Health is taking the lead, with support from the World Health Organisation. "SADC is sensitising member states, creating awareness as to the threat and encouraging them to establish 'National Avian Flu Technical Committees' representing national veterinary authorities, human health authorities and wild life authorities," Mtei said. Established committees meet on a regular basis to ensure that surveillance measures, testing and reporting on abnormal mortalities in wild and domestic birds are in place, and to share relevant information. Because health and agricultural systems are generally weak across the SADC member states, "all testing for bird flu is currently done in South Africa, although efforts are underway to develop additional capacity in the region," Mtei commented. Given the high levels of HIV/AIDS and malnutrition in Southern Africa, one cause for particular concern is the likely serious impact of H5N1 on people with already compromised immune systems. OCHA warned that if the H5N1 strain were to be detected in the region, culling would almost certainly be necessary as a means of containment, "Although they [authorities] are very cognisant of the fact that for many people in Southern Africa, chickens are one of the main means of livelihood and nutrition, and that culling could pose a serious threat to livelihood, nutrition, food security and thus, ultimately, life."