US embassy cable - 05ANKARA6138

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006138 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FRO EUR/RUS, OES/STC, EB/TPP/ATP, EB/TPP/BTA 
HHS FOR WSTEIGER/PBUDASHEWITZ 
ITP/MACKE/THOMAS, CMP/DLP/WETZEL 
FAS PASS FSIS AND APHIS 
VIENNA PASS APHIS 
BRUSSELS PASS APHIS/FERNANDEZ 
GENEVA PASS HEALTH ATTACHE 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, EAGR, KPAO, TBIO 
SUBJECT:  Turkey's AI Outbreak - More Details 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for Internet Distribution. 
 
1.  Summary.  More details are emerging about the recent AI 
outbreak in Turkey.  On Thursday, officials expect to 
receive test results for specimens sent to England to 
determine the subtype Avian Influenza (AI) that was detected 
in a turkey flock last week.  The government has been taking 
extraordinary steps to quarantine the area and, even more 
importantly, provide information and guidance to the public 
regarding the outbreak.  There are reports that Turkish 
consumers are avoiding all poultry meat produced in the 
region.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------- 
October 2, First Detected 
------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) More details are beginning to emerge about the 
recent outbreak of AI near Baliksehir.  The Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) informed USDA's Animal 
Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS), that the virus 
was detected on October 1.  At that time, the private farmer 
discovered 2 - 3 dead birds.  The birds had been kept 
outdoors and could have been in contact with wild birds in 
the region.  The following day the number of dead birds 
increased and a veterinarian from a commercial poultry 
operator was called to the farm.  When he arrived, he 
witnessed up to 50 dead birds and notified the District 
veterinary office and immediately sent samples to a lab in 
Izmir, the only lab in the country equipped to test for AI. 
On October 7, the initial results confirmed the presence of 
AI.  By that time 1700 birds had died from the virus. 
Unfortunately, the lab in Izmir is unable to test for 
subtypes and the samples had to be sent to a lab in England. 
Note:  One commercial producer informed us that, as of 
Monday evening, the samples had still not been sent.  As a 
result, test results are not expected until Thursday. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Bird Deaths and Preventive Measures 
----------------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) MARA has established a 3km radius around the 
infected farm as a quarantine zone.  The remaining 100 birds 
on the infected farm were destroyed over the weekend. 
Additionally, 2,684 turkeys on another farm within the 3 km 
area that had not shown any signs of the disease were culled 
killed as a precautionary measure.  All pigeons, ducks, and 
chickens (over 2000) were also destroyed within this 
quarantine area.  No movement of animals are permitted 
outside this area and all vehicles are been disinfected. 
MARA is apparently destroying the birds at night to ensure 
that birds have not been left wandering in fields. 
 
4.  (SBU) MARA has established an additional 7km radius as 
an observation area where precautions have also been taken 
to avoid the spread of the disease.  School children have 
been sent to other areas to live with family members, feed 
trucks are being disinfected, and five empty barns have been 
destroyed. Private poultry companies have also agreed to 
destroy birds within an additional 5 km radius outside of 
this 10 km zone as a precaution. 
 
5.  (SBU) According to the Turkish Poultry Association, 
there are about 150 million birds used for commercial 
purposes in Turkey. There are 120 million broilers and 30 
million layers. The number of non-commercial birds in Turkey 
is unknown.  Total sales in the broiler sector are USD 2.2 
billion and USD 600 million in the egg sector. 
 
6.  (SBU) Although live bird sales have been prohibited in 
Turkey for many years, the GOT never enforced the law and it 
was common practice to sell live birds in the open-air 
markets.  However, since the AI outbreak last week, there 
will be stricter enforcement of this law. Live bird sales in 
the Marmara region, where the outbreak occurred, will be 
more strictly enforced and large commercial operations are 
seeking to ban small non-commercial farms. 
 
 
7.  (SBU) MARA officials have indicated that the Turkish 
government will reimburse farmers for any flocks, which need 
to be culled.  Apparently a new regulation was passed over 
the weekend ensuring that farmers will be compensated. 
 
------------------------------ 
Comment:  MARA Responding Well 
------------------------------ 
 
8.  (SBU) MARA has responded well to the current situation, 
taking decisive steps to contain any outbreak.  In addition, 
agriculture officials have made great effort to inform both 
poultry producers and consumers about the outbreak.  Farmers 
in Bolu, northwest of Ankara were invited to a conference 
with some 300 other producers on Tuesday and the government 
hosted a call-in television talk show to answer questions. 
There are indications that consumers are avoiding poultry 
from companies which produce in the area. 
 
MCELDOWNEY