US embassy cable - 05ALMATY3085

UNCLAS  ALMATY 003085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CACEN MUDGE, AND EUR/RUS NOLL 
ALSO FOR EUR/PGI AYU, OES/IHA COMELLA AND SINGER, OES/STC 
NP/PTR CAMERON, EB/TPP/ATP, EB/TPP/BTA AND INR/REA 
USDA FAS FOR ITP FOR MACKE/THOMAS, CMP/DLP WETZEL 
FAS PLEASE PASS TO APHIS AND FSIS 
HHS FOR WSTEIGER, PBUDASHEWITZ 
CDC FOR SBLOUNT, EMCCRAY 
BRUSSELS PLEASE PASS TO APHIS/FENANDEZ 
ANKARA FOR FAS ATTACHE HIGGISTON 
GENEVA FOR HEALTH ATTACHE 
TASHKENT FOR ESTH 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, TBIO, ECON, RS, ETRD, PGOV, KZ, Avian Influenza, POLITICAL 
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE 
 
REF: (A) ALMATY 2842 
 
     (B) ALMATY 2904 
     (C) ALMATY 2957 
     (D) STATE 15149 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: This telegram supplements Reftels A-C and 
responds to the directive in para. 5 of Reftel D.  On August 
18, additional outbreaks of H5N1 AI were confirmed in 
villages of North Kazakhstan Oblast, which borders on the 
Russian Federation.  Thousands of domesticated birds have 
been culled in response.  The GOK canceled the fall hunting 
season to prevent contact between humans and wild fowl 
during the migratory period.  In sum, the GOK has spent 10.5 
million KZT (about $780,000) on its response to AI.  Local 
media are reporting that market prices for poultry and eggs 
are rising in some areas, particularly for imports.  No/no 
further reports of AI have been made since August 18.  No/no 
indications of AI transmission to a human have been noted in 
Kazakhstan since last report.  End Summary. 
 
NKO Outbreak Continues to Grow 
------------------------------ 
 
2. (U) On August 18, the Ministry of Agriculture announced 
that the AI situation in North Kazakhstan Oblast is 
serious, and that measures taken to isolate 
domesticated birds from wild birds are not being 
implemented adequately.  The Ministry's press release 
named villages where Ministry inspectors observed 
domesticated birds not being kept in fenced areas, 
and faulted the Ministry's own attempts to advise 
farmers on what to do.  In the villages of Dubrovnoye 
(Mamlyutskiy district) and Talakper (Yesilskiy 
district), the Ministry confirmed the presence of 
H5N1 AI among domesticated fowl. 
 
3. (U) The cases in Dubrovnoye and Talakper led to the 
destruction of 2,711 animals in the former and 3,193 in the 
latter.  These numbers are significant because according to 
the Agriculture Ministry, only 9,056 birds had been culled 
cumulatively as of August 17.  The actions in Dubrovnoye and 
Talakper bring the total number of reported cullings to 
14,960; the two villages account for 40% of the total. 
 
Latest Agriculture Ministry Actions 
----------------------------------- 
 
4. (U) The director of the Agriculture Ministry's veterinary 
department, Dr. Asylbek Kazhmuratov announced at an August 
16 press conference that the GOK had spent 10.5 million KZT 
(about $780,000) on the AI epidemic so far.  Two thirds of 
that money had been spent on protective clothing and 
operating expenses for sanitation personnel.  The remaining 
funds, he said, were spent on disinfecting households and 
providing compensation for destroyed flocks. 
 
5. (U) At the same press conference, Kazhmuratov announced a 
ban on fall bird hunting.  The GOK should confirm this in a 
decree in the very near future.  Normally the fall hunting 
season runs for two weeks in October. 
 
Poultry Prices Climbing 
----------------------- 
 
6. (U) Local media are also reporting increases of 10-15% 
or more in prices for poultry and eggs in some markets. 
Traders in markets assure customers that the chicken and 
eggs they are selling are not from the affected regions of 
the country.  According to the largest poultry wholesaler in 
South Kazakhstan, the retail traders must be adding a 
premium for this guarantee, because the wholesale price has 
not changed.  Prices for products imported from the U.S. 
have increased as well - in one week, the price of U.S. 
chicken legs has jumped from 260 to 300 KZT per kilogram, a 
15.4% increase.  (Comment:  The rise in prices may reflect 
decreased supply due to restrictions on transporting or 
selling poultry and eggs from the affected oblasts. 
However, the increasing prices could also be read somewhat 
optimistically as an indication that demand remains constant 
despite the situation.  End comment.) 
 
GOK Response Organization 
------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) As the AI epidemic has spread, the GOK has 
formalized the structure of its interagency response.  While 
the Ministry of Agriculture is the most directly involved 
Ministry, policy issues are worked out at the interagency 
level.  Overall coordination is performed by the secretariat 
of the Security Council.  Additionally, a coordinating 
committee has been established with representation from the 
Ministries of Emergency Situations, Agriculture, Healthcare, 
Interior and the Border Guards ( a directorate of the 
Committee for National Security, or KNB.)  The chairman of 
the coordinating committee is First Deputy Minister of 
Emergency Situations Nurakhmet Bezhanov. 
 
9. (SBU) Outside organizations are also contributing to the 
GOK's response, including the International Epizootic Bureau 
(OIE), and the World Health Organization.  However, their 
contributions have been relatively minor - most likely 
because of the significant differences in scale between the 
epidemics in Kazakhstan and Russia. 
 
10. (U) Dushanbe Minimize considered. 
 
ASQUINO 
 
 
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