US embassy cable - 05RANGOON1219

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001219 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, SENV, AMED, CASC, KSCA, BM, Avian Influenza 
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA:  BURMA UPDATE:  OCTOBER 27, 2005 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 1157 
     B. RANGOON 1038 
     C. RANGOON 1036 
     D. STATE 193506 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: The public in Burma is waking up to new 
stories and rumors about Avian Influenza (AI), prompting 
sudden fluctuations in poultry prices in some Rangoon markets 
this week. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has 
been working closely with the GOB's Livestock Breeding and 
Veterinary Department (LBVD) to track these rumors and 
reports of bird deaths in Burma.  FAO has shared a copy of 
the latest LBVD report with post.  Nonetheless, the people of 
Burma remain largely in the dark about the threat of AI, and 
the government continues to insist there are no indications 
of AI in Burma, even as it crops up in neighboring nations 
and the principal migratory routes for wild birds in Siberia 
and western China pass over this country.  Post has conducted 
town meetings and circulated the latest Department guidance 
on AI to the small American community in Burma, but medical 
facilities in country are grossly unprepared to cope with 
even normal health emergencies, much less a pandemic.  End 
summary. 
 
2.  (U) Rumors have been circulating around Rangoon for the 
past week that the price of chicken in local markets has 
dropped dramatically due to illness or death among local 
chickens.  Emboffs and FSNs did some spot checking this week 
of local supermarkets and outdoor "wet markets" and found 
that the price of "Burmese chicken" (traditional "backyard" 
fowl) has increased by 300 kyat (US 0.30) per bird while the 
price of commercially raised broilers has decreased by 300 
kyat per bird.  While health and agricultural experts have 
advised us that chickens raised in the open are actually more 
vulnerable to infection from wild birds than are commercial 
broilers, raised indoors under controlled conditions (ref B), 
the Burmese public does not seem to realize this; many 
believes that local free-range birds are safer than those 
mass-produced at chicken farms.  We have found no indications 
that the price fluctuations are more than a seasonal 
phenomenon, compounded by public superstition about AI after 
hearing news of recent outbreaks overseas. 
 
3.  (SBU) The FAO office in Rangoon reports that the 
Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department issued a report 
in September that addressed the causes of recently 
fluctuating chicken prices in local markets.  The report 
concluded that the price fluctuation was primarily due to 
seasonal factors, such as weather, and not outbreaks of AI. 
LBVD reported to FAO this week that they have not received 
reports of any suspected AI outbreaks in Burma to date.  We 
have obtained a copy of the LBVD report in Burmese and are 
having relevant portions translated; we will submit copies to 
interested parties upon request.  Burmese media, all of which 
is heavily censored by the Ministry of Information, have paid 
modest attention to stories about AI in Europe and elsewhere 
in Asia (usually buried in the international news section, 
never on the front page), but there has been no mention of 
any cases or suspected cases in Burma.  Many Burmese citizens 
are only learning about AI for the first time in recent 
months and, in the absence of government information on how 
to recognize the disease or take health precautions, are 
relying on rumors alone to guide their actions. 
 
4.  (U) Embassy distributed the latest Department guidance on 
AI (ref D) to all 100  members of the American community 
registered with the U.S. Embassy on October 25 via the 
Consular Section's monthly newsletter; the Embassy also held 
a Town Hall meeting on September 27 during the visit of our 
Bangkok-based RMO to provide information to the American 
community, both official and private, on AI.  RMO Keyes 
provided information on viral epidemics, the transmission of 
viruses from animals to humans and the behavior of the H5N1 
virus to the 50 attendees.  He also described the history of 
AI in the region and recommended precautions individuals can 
take in the event of a flu outbreak, referring the audience 
to the WHO and CDC websites for the latest information. 
Emboffs also briefed the community on the need for Amcits to 
make advance preparations and be vigilant to the AI threat in 
Burma, since the GOB was unlikely to freely share health 
information with the public.  We also advised that medical 
infrastructure in the country is inadequate to respond to the 
challenge of a major epidemic. Attendees at the Town Hall 
meeting received copies of the WHO's "FAQs About Avian 
Influenza" and the CDC's "Interim Guidance About Avian 
Influenza for U.S. Citizens Living Abroad." 
 
5.  (SBU) COMMENT: Burma is particularly vulnerable to AI, 
given its proximity to countries already feeling the effects 
of the disease and exacerbated by the governing regime's 
unwillingness to share information on any sensitive or 
embarrassing topic with the world or with its own public, and 
the GOB's lack of inclination to cooperate with other nations 
on this global threat.  Burma already faces a public health 
crisis from many other communicable diseases; if AI takes 
hold here, the system will become overburdened quickly.  The 
Embassy continues to provide the latest information to the 
American community in country and prepare contingency plans. 
At the present time, we have received no reliable indications 
that AI has reached Burma, but there is much in this country 
that we do not know and cannot easily learn.  End comment. 
 
STOLTZ