Preparing to tackle avian flu

There's pressure on the Nepali government to introduce more comprehensive measures to tackle avian flu. Although the flu has yet to be detected in Nepal, the virus is present in neighbouring India and China. The Himalayan kingdom’s long, porous borders with both countries make keeping the virus at bay a challenge.

In a new report on the virus, the World Bank says the risk for Nepal remains high as it has not been able to reach full agreement with India and China on border quarantine measures.

China reported its tenth human bird flu death on Wednesday – a nine-year-old girl in the country’s south east. The girl died on Monday in the southeastern coastal province of Zhejiang, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. In February, India also confirmed outbreaks of bird flu at several commercial farms in Maharashtra and Gujarat states.

Nepal’s difficult geographical terrain, combined with poverty and the decade-long Maoist conflict, make monitoring the movement of poultry and animals across borders very difficult. The government has established 24 quarantine posts on borders to prevent the virus entering Nepal, but critics say many more are urgently needed.

The H5N1 virus has devastated poultry stocks and killed at least 95 people since 2003, mostly in Asia. Fresh outbreaks have been reported in more than a dozen countries since early February. Most human infections have been linked to direct contact with sick poultry.

Experts have warned that the virus could mutate into a form that could be easily transmitted between people.

The conflict in Nepal is also having an impact on bird flu surveillance, organised by the state-run Veterinary Epidemiology Centre under the Animal Health Directorate. Nine surveillance teams have been established along the Nepal-India border but staff have reportedly faced access problems due to clashes between insurgents and security forces.

“There are potential restrictions [on the work of avian flu surveillance teams] due to blockades and strikes [by Maoist rebels]. How to assure appropriate movement of the surveillance teams will be a challenge,” said Suomi Sakai, Nepal representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which is assisting Nepal’s efforts to limit the virus.

UNICEF wants the government to formulate clear messages about bird flu in order to get the population behind measures to tackle the virus. “The crucial thing is to determine what the government wants to say to the people. The clearer we are on what we are going to communicate, the easier it is to get compliance from people,” explained Sakai.

Nepal’s broadcast and print media have been quick to publicise the dangers of avian influenza, but the result has been a 50 percent cut in the lucrative poultry industry, as people shun chicken, according to the Ministry of Health. The message should be that commercial poultry is safe to eat as long as it is thoroughly cooked, the ministry has said.

“There is a need to stress the importance of publicising accurate, helpful information about the state of AI (avian influenza),” said the World Bank report.

Observers stress the need for proper compensation for culled birds. Paying a set fee per bird would encourage poorer households to give up domestic poultry for destruction in areas where the virus may be detected.

There has been no culling to date in Nepal because the virus has yet to be detected, but the new government plan is expected to preapre for the culling and disposal of infected or suspect poultry as well as offering compensation.

The World Bank has said Nepal needs at least US $15 million over the next two years to tackle bird flu but has noted the money has yet to be pledged. “No donor agencies have so far expressed any commitment to financially supporting the government [avian flu] plan,” said its report.