US embassy cable - 05ROME1142

UNCLAS  ROME 001142 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME 
 
STATE FOR IO/EDA, NEA/ENA, EA/SEA, OES/IHA 
USAID FOR DCHA, OFDA GOTTLIEB 
USDA FOR OSEC PENN/BUTLER/LAMBERT, FAS HUGHES/CLERKIN, 
APHIS 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH/USAID 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
USEUCOM FOR ECJ4 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, EAGR, PREF, SENV, XC, UN, FAO 
SUBJECT: FAO'S AVIAN INFLUENZA ACTIVITIES 
 
REF: (A) ROME 0877; (B) STATE 52911; (C) JAKARTA 04032 
 
1. Summary.  USUN Rome has been holding informal meetings 
with technical experts of the United Nations (UN) Food 
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to ascertain FAO's 
activities to contain Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza 
(HPAI). Since January 2004 when the outbreaks first 
occurred, FAO and its collaborating partners, the World 
Health Organization (WHO) and Office International des 
Epizooties (OIE, or World Organization for Animal 
Health), have been actively involved in a campaign to 
contain and stamp out the disease. FAO would like more 
cooperative efforts with U.S. missions in affected 
countries.  Comments are invited from these posts on 
FAO's HPAI technical assistance and control operations. 
USUN Rome can continue to provide information on FAO AI 
programs and facilitate communication with FAO management 
and at its headquarters.  End Summary 
 
2. Background: The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza 
(HPAI) viruses, also known as bird flu, have been in 
circulation for over 100 years, but FAO experts state 
they have never seen it behave this way where eleven 
countries (Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, 
Laos, North Korea, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, and 
Viet Nam) have reported outbreaks. An unprecedented 
number of outbreaks, coupled with the human dimension of 
infection resulting in death are requisite components for 
a possible pandemic. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
FAO's Role in Controlling Avian Influenza 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
3. As the lead UN agency for food and agriculture, FAO is 
mandated to recommend national and international action 
on animal health, particularly monitoring the occurrence 
and impact of animal diseases such as HPAI and developing 
policies for effective prevention and control. The 
livestock component of FAO's priority program for 
Emergency Prevention Systems for Trans-boundary Animal 
and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) promotes the 
effective containment and control of epidemic livestock 
diseases (e.g. HPAI) by progressive elimination on a 
regional and global basis through international 
cooperation on early warning and reaction, research, and 
coordination. 
 
4.  Since the outbreak last year, FAO has been 
collaborating closely with international partners, the 
most important of which is the World Health Organization 
(WHO), which evaluates the human aspect. WHO's aim is to 
monitor and control the outbreak in humans, conduct 
research and improve preparedness.   FAO undertakes weekly 
conference calls with WHO to evaluate the situation and 
coordinate response. 
 
5.  FAO also works closely with the Office International 
des Epizooties (OIE, or World Organization for Animal 
Health), which is the lead international standards 
setting agency on animal health. OIE develops normative 
 
rules that member states can follow to prevent the 
introduction of animal diseases and pathogens. 
 
6. FAO and OIE are working jointly to establish a global 
framework on country-specific priorities for controlling 
HPAI. National, regional and international proposals are 
currently being drafted and coordinated with important 
regional stakeholders such as the Association for 
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian 
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).  FAO/OIE 
hope to release both regional and country approach 
project documents by the HPAI global strategy meeting 
being held in Bangkok from May 17-18, 2005.  The meeting 
will serve as a platform for the regional and 
international community to buy-in to operations in 
progress and those being proposed. 
 
7. FAO also has been working closely with USDA on the 
APEC Symposium on Response to Outbreaks of Avian 
Influenza and Preparedness for a Human Health Emergency, 
which is scheduled for July 28-29, 2005, in San 
Francisco.  An FAO representative, Dr. Watanee 
Kalpravidh, participated in the Steering Committee 
meeting and will make a presentation at the Symposium. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Funding for HPAI: Predicted Needs and Pledges to Date 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
8. On March 30, senior FAO management reviewed funding 
needs for HPAI control. Earlier, FAO indicated country 
needs to combat AI will range around $100 million, which 
was estimated based on the needs of three countries 
(Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia) to strengthen 
surveillance, disease control and vaccination, early 
warning systems and restructure the poultry sector in ten 
countries. Whether an appeal for that amount or greater 
will be launched before the May 2005 HPAI global strategy 
meeting is not yet certain. However, FAO is currently 
formulating two-page concept papers for each country and 
region, which will be sent to donors within the next few 
weeks. 
 
9. In addition to the $100 million, FAO estimates $4 
million is needed to bolster FAO Technical Cooperation 
Program (TCP) activities to maintain national 
laboratories and conduct regional epidemiological studies 
on HPAI. 
 
10. Between FAO TCP and donor funds, approximately $18 
million have been invested to purchase equipment and 
provide technical assistance. Donors include the Asian 
Development Bank, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and 
the World Bank. In March, both the European Union and 
Germany each pledged to FAO approximately $6 million 
(Euros 5 million) as start-up funds for developing 
regional and country specific projects. The Netherlands 
has pledged $250,000 for bolstering FAO's Emergency 
Center for the Control of Trans-boundary Animal Diseases 
(ECTAD) with a Dutch visiting scientist for six months, 
followed by a series of Dutch experts, including the 
 
country's Chief Veterinary Officer. Meanwhile, Finland 
has also expressed interest to fund project proposals. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Recent Outbreaks: North Korea Yes, Myanmar Maybe 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
11. On North Korea, FAO experts suspected the virus was 
circulating for six months prior to the Government of 
North Korea's recent public acknowledgement of an 
outbreak, but could not confirm the information. On March 
29, FAO's Bangkok-based Senior Veterinary Officer (SVO) 
traveled to North Korea to review the situation and 
conduct diagnostic tests.  The SVO already has met with 
WHO experts.  Meanwhile, at the behest of the North 
Korean delegation in Rome, FAO HPAI experts have met with 
members to discuss FAO programs and technical assistance. 
A joint press release will state, "At a farm near 
Pyongyang, 160,000-200,000 chickens were noted with high 
mortality indicative of Avian Influenza.  Similar 
mortality conditions were noted in two neighboring 
communities.  Approximately 219,000 animals have been 
culled, while the remaining in the surrounding areas will 
be vaccinated."  FAO's Regional Coordinator for Mongolia, 
China, and North and South Korea, Dr. Guo, will travel to 
North Korea on April 2 to assist further with 
diagnostics. 
 
12. FAO experts also indicate there is an unconfirmed 
report of an outbreak in Myanmar. FAO is working with 
other organizations to verify this information. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
What has FAO done? Strategy and Actions for Containment 
since January 2004 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
13.  FAO experts contend that they and their 
international partners have a lid on the situation, but 
not control, and that much progress has been made in 
early detection and rapid response, with fewer recorded 
outbreaks this year. Eradication, however, will be a 
multi-year effort. If the HPAI virus mutates to a more 
virulent strain, the problem will be much more severe and 
could give rise to a pandemic. FAO experts stressed the 
need to invest in the agriculture and veterinary sectors 
to tackle the source, namely, fowl and poultry in Asia, 
today. To eradicate HPAI, FAO has come up with a multi- 
faceted approach: 
 
- Increasing public awareness activities, technical 
assistance, and training, involving all stakeholders from 
rural farmers to animal/public health officials, to the 
international community; 
- Improving diagnostic and monitoring measures; 
- Strengthening veterinary networks; and 
- Instituting guidelines for disease control/stamping out 
and prevention. 
 
Over the course of the year, FAO implemented a series of 
 
19 emergency projects involving these approaches, 
covering an area from Pakistan to Indonesia. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Increase Public Awareness and Technical Assistance 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
14. Within days of the outbreak in January 2004, FAO held 
a series of coordination and/or technical meetings, 
either individually or jointly with WHO and OIE. Most 
recently from February 23-25, 2005, it co-hosted with OIE 
a regional "lessons learned" meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, 
at which over 2,000 experts and delegates attended, to 
assess the HPAI situation one year after the outbreak. 
USDA and DHHS have made significant contributions to the 
organization and work of FAO's technical consultations. 
 
15. FAO established a Technical Task Force on Avian 
Influenza composed of FAO animal disease experts at Rome 
headquarters and its regional office in Bangkok. At the 
onset, FAO had at its disposal over 25 experts. It 
continues to deploy these experts to the region to advise 
national and local authorities on measures to control 
HPAI. 
 
16. FAO also established the Emergency Center for the 
Control of Trans-boundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), to 
strengthen and streamline FAO support to countries and 
regions facing HPAI and other animal diseases. ECTAD's 
campaign against HPAI is coordinated by its Avian 
Influenza Task Force. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
FAO Diagnostics and Research Activities 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
17. FAO's Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) set up six 
national TCPs (in Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Pakistan, 
Cambodia and Laos) to better grasp and analyze the 
situation, conduct diagnostics and surveillance, and 
implement contingency plans. It subsequently set up six 
regional TCPs and two international TCPs. 
 
18. FAO is conducting studies on the incidence of disease 
over different practices. For example, a review of local 
farming systems is helping to understand causality and 
origins of the disease. FAO is exploring risk factors in 
rice/rice paddies, duck production, etc., that contribute 
to the spread of HPAI. 
 
19. FAO is using its own software known as Trans-boundary 
Animal Diseases Info (TADInfo), which has a mapping and 
geographic information systems (GIS) component that 
customizes the software to each country, to combat HPAI. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Strengthening Veterinary Networks 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
20. Because regional collaboration is crucial in 
combating a trans-boundary disease like HPAI, FAO 
 
launched a veterinary network project named "Diagnostic 
Laboratory and Surveillance Network Coordination for 
Control and Prevention of Avian Influenza," to enhance 
epidemiological surveillance, diagnosis and control in 23 
countries through three sub-regional networks. The 
networks not only act as training and information 
exchange platforms, but also promote harmonized standards 
for disease detection and reporting for national 
laboratories. (Veterinarians from the region have taken 
samples from all birds in native countries as well as in 
countries where birds migrate, and sent the samples to 
designated laboratories for proper diagnosis.) The three 
sub-regional networks are divided as follows: 
- Southeast Asia (SEA), covering Cambodia, Laos, 
Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, 
Philippines, Thailand, East Timor and Viet Nam; 
- South Asia (SA), covering Afghanistan, Bangladesh, 
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka; 
- East Asia (EA), covering China, Japan, the Democratic 
Peoples Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and the Republic of 
Korea. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
FAO Guidelines and Initiatives 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
21. FAO issued or published the following: 
- Guiding Principles on Highly Pathogenic Avian 
Influenza; 
- Recommendations for Prevention, Control and Eradication 
of HPAI in Asia (with the support of the OIE); 
- FAOAIDE news bulletin (or FAO Avian Influenza Disease 
Emergency news) issued by the FAO Technical Task Force on 
Avian Influenza to provide monthly updates; and 
- EMPRES bulletin (to disseminate studies on HPAI 
epidemiology) 
 
22. FAO and OIE jointly launched the Global Framework for 
Progressive Control of Trans-boundary Animal Diseases 
(GF-TADs) initiative. GF-TADs is a facilitating mechanism 
to empower countries and regional alliances to build 
capacity and establish programs to target TADs.  HPAI 
ranks seventh on a list of twenty-five priority TADs. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
Across Asia: FAO's View on Individual Country's Progress 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
23. When asked for a ranking of countries doing well in 
combating HPAI, FAO experts believe China and Malaysia 
lead due to their willingness to conduct the surveillance 
activities requested by FAO. China's advantage over 
Malaysia is its ability to produce high quantities of 
HPAI vaccines. Thailand and Viet Nam follow, although 
Viet Nam's political will to implement surveillance 
programs is stronger than its capacity.  Laos and 
Cambodia are far behind for their inability to conduct 
the required surveillance (for lack of funds). 
Indonesia's difficulty is the cost to import the vaccine. 
Pakistan's laboratory equipment and materials are quite 
dated (circa 1960's), and the country needs good 
 
laboratory facilities to institute good manufacturing 
practices. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
FAO Programs in the Pipeline 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
24. FAO has underway or is considering developing the 
following proposals to strengthen early warning systems, 
surveillance, and build laboratory capacity in HPAI 
affected countries: 
 
A) A regional project to strengthen HPAI control through 
improved trans-boundary animal disease management system 
in Asia; 
B) Establishing an ECTAD trust fund that allows for cross 
country funding; 
C) Bolstering ECTAD through a visiting scientist program 
or in-kind expert assistance, replicating the Dutch 
project; and 
D) Creating or emulating a USDA Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) Emergency Operations Center 
(AEOC) like facility.  AEOC, in Riverdale, MD, serves as 
the national command and coordination center for APHIS 
emergency programs for managing emergency projects. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Areas for Further Collaboration 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
25.  In addition to funding the purchase of diagnostic 
equipment and protective gear, FAO experts requested 
assistance in establishing national scholarships to train 
local experts on FAO/OIE guidelines on diagnostics, bio- 
safety, environment, and disposal/waste management.  For 
example, local experts could be sent to the USDA National 
Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, to be 
trained on standardized OIE diagnostic procedures.  FAO 
also requested assistance in facilitating the couriering 
of laboratory samples across borders in the region to 
designated facilities.  More information can be found on 
FAO's Web site at 
http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/hea lth/diseases 
-cards/special_avian.html 
 
26. Missions can tie in to FAO regional programs by 
communicating directly with FAO representatives (FAORs) 
and requesting to participate in HPAI donor coordination 
meetings. For example, FAO indicated that Deputy FAOR in 
Jakarta, Benni Sormin, will continue to lead the donor 
coordination meetings at post. Following is a list of 
FAORs or deputies and e-mails: 
- Cambodia: Jean Claude Levasseur, FAO-KH@fao.org 
- India: Daniel John Gustafson, FAO-IN@fao.org 
- Indonesia: Benni Sormin, FAO-ID@fao.org 
- Korea DPR: Ri Sony Chol, Ri.Sony.Chol@undp.org 
- Laos: Leena Kirjavainen, FAO-LA@fao.org 
- Myanmar: Zhengping Tang, FAO-MMR@fao.org 
- Nepal: Kazuyuki Tsurumi, FAO-NP@fao.org 
- Pakistan: Ronny Adhikarya, FAO-PK@fao.org 
- Sri Lanka: Mazla Mohamad Jusoh, FAO-LK@fao.org 
 
 
- Thailand: Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO-THA@fao.org 
- Viet Nam: Anton Rychener, FAO-VNM@fao.org 
 
27. Posts in affected countries are welcome to provide 
comments relating to FAO's HPAI technical assistance and 
control operations.  USUN Rome can continue to provide 
information on FAO programs and facilitate communication 
with FAO management and experts.  USUN Rome will continue 
to engage FAO further on measures being taken for 
efficient and effective response to the HPAI emergency. 
 
CLEVERLEY 
 
 
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	2005ROME01142 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED