US embassy cable - 05KATHMANDU2361

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 002361 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SA/INS 
NSC FOR GREEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2015 
TAGS: TBIO, KSCA, SENV, EAGR, ECON, PREL, NP, WHO, FAO, Avian Flu 
SUBJECT: NEPAL'S PREPAREDNESS FOR AVIAN FLU; DELIVERY OF 
IPAPI SUMMARY REPORT 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 195603 
     B. KATHMANDU 2113 
 
Classified By: Classified by Ambassador James F. Moriarty.  Reasons 1.4 
 b/d 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
1. (SBU) His Majesty's Government of Nepal (HMGN) is working 
through a Task Force established in 2004 to upgrade its 
capacity to handle an avian flu outbreak, but Nepali 
officials worry about what resources may be available to 
assist with Nepal's preparedness.  While no cases of avian 
flu have been identified in Nepal, rumors of the disease have 
already hurt the poultry industry, whose sales have declined 
by thirty percent.  Press and government both continue to 
focus on avian influenza in the media.  MissionOffs delivered 
the Chairman's Summary of the first Senior Officials Meeting 
(SOM) for the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic 
Influenza, and the Reports of the Working Group Rapporteurs 
(ref A) to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
NEPAL'S TASK FORCE ON AVIAN INFLUENZA 
------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) As reported in ref B, no human or animal cases of 
avian influnza have been discovered in Nepal to date.  Nepal 
formed a Task Force on Avian Influenza in January 2004 to 
develop prevention and control strategies.  The Task Force 
included the Director General of the Department of Health 
Services as Chair Person; the Director General of Livestock 
Services as Coordinator; the Director of Epidemiology and 
Disease Control Division as Member Secretary; and chiefs or 
representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Department 
of Animal Health, poultry farmers, and the Consumer Forum. 
The Task Force had held several meetings to discuss and 
execute activities to survey both human and animal health 
facilities and laboratories, raise public awareness, and 
develop guidelines for health facilities on case recognition, 
reporting and management.  The Department of Animal Health 
had performed "active surveillance" of suspected cases 
reported from farm areas.  In addition, the Task Force has 
circulated World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on the 
prevention and control of Avian Influenza for the 
preparedness of laboratory diagnosis, surveillance and case 
management. 
 
MFA ASKS WHETHER HELP AVAILABLE 
------------------------------- 
 
3. (SBU) Emboff and USAID Health and Child Survival Advisor 
delivered on October 26 the Chairman's Summary of the first 
Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) for the International 
Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, and the Reports 
of the Working Group Rapporteurs (ref A), to Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MFA) Americas Officer Rajaram Bartaula as 
well as to Acting Director General, Department of Health 
Services, Dr. Mahendra Bahadur Bista.  Bartaula noted that 
the Royal Nepalese Embassy in Washington had sent a 
representative to the October 6-7 meeting.  He stressed that 
the Nepalese government was emphasizing information-sharing 
on this issue, and that he would forward the information to 
the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, and Home. 
 
4. (C) The MFA official asked whether funds might be 
available to assist with Nepal's preparedness for a possible 
avian flu outbreak.  We explained that USAID was in the 
process of conducting a global assessment of each nation's 
preparedness and needs.  Bartaula commented that the issue of 
compensation to farmers remained key to maintaining control 
of any outbreaks, as farmers might be tempted to hide poultry 
or other animals from extermination, absent economic 
incentive. 
 
HEALTH MINISTRY PREPARING FOR AI, BUT STILL NOT READY 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
5. (SBU) The Ministry of Health's (MOH) Bista stated that he 
would share the information Emboff presented with all members 
at the October 31 meeting of the government Task Force on 
Avian Influenza.  He noted that Nepal's active Red Cross 
Society had recently joined the Task Force.  The MOH was 
providing training to mid-level health workers and staff 
nurses to be able to identify and collect samples for avian 
flu testing, Bista stated, and added that the MOH hoped to 
have staff in up to forty-five districts trained by the end 
of November.  Bista said that Nepal also had established an 
early warning system in twenty-eight major hospitals to 
identify any outbreaks.  Bista remarked that the World Health 
Organization (WHO) was active in Nepal assisting with 
upgrading the country's surveillance mechanisms to identify 
and investigate potential avian influenza outbreaks in both 
animals and humans, as well as necessary procedures for 
outbreak containment and management. 
 
6. (SBU) Showing an avian flu brochure, which the MOH had 
published and distributed 100,000 copies to the public one 
year ago, Bista lamented that his Ministry did not have the 
resources to update and reprint it.  He noted, however, that 
the Nepali Red Cross was drafting a one page informational 
sheet for the general public.  While Nepal had been preparing 
for a possible avian flu outbreak for some time, Bista 
admitted that Nepal could still improve its capabilities in 
surveillance, quarantine, manpower/capacity building, and 
communication mechanisms. 
 
NEPALI PRESS COVERING AI; RUMORS OF BIRD FLU HURT POULTRY 
INDUSTRY 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
7. (SBU) Avian influenza continues to be a major news item in 
the Nepali press.  HMGN is conducting a public awareness 
campaign on avian influenza to promote preparedness.  A 
front-page story in the Kathmandu Post revealed that the 
government had banned the import of birds and "bird-products" 
from all countries until further notice, following outbreaks 
of Avian Flu in over a dozen countries in Southeast Asia and 
Europe.  Even though there have been no confirmed cases of 
avian influenza in Nepal, the public has already responded 
economically to rumors of avian influenza. 
 
8. (U) News reports published October 25 indicated that, 
based solely on rumors of bird flu, chicken sales in Nepal 
had declined by thirty percent, jeopardizing an industry 
worth NRS 16 billion (USD 229 million).  "People are being 
unnecessarily panicky," asserted Narayan Hari Khatri of 
Asapuri Hatchery, noting that the loss in sales was also 
driving down the price of chicken.  The "psychological 
impact" of bird flu, Pashupati Dahal of Nepal Hatchery and 
Breeding Pvt. Ltd. stated, had led to a "hefty 50 percent 
decline in sales" at his farm.  Government is using the media 
also to protect its poultry industry, already badly hit by 
rumors of bird flu.  In an effort to convince consumers that 
Nepal's poultry was safe to eat, MOH's Bista had appeared on 
public television eating a chicken leg. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
9. (SBU) Nepal has plans for monitoring domestic bird 
populations, but if there is an outbreak of avian influenza, 
the country faces difficulty with access to much of its rural 
population due to its unique geography and the ongoing Maoist 
insurgency.  The Ministry of Health has a general, 
outbreak-focused rapid response team in each of Nepal's 
seventy-five districts; however, Nepal should strengthen its 
surveillance system through the creation of fixed or roving 
teams to identify disease outbreaks, with a special focus on 
avian influenza. 
MORIARTY