US embassy cable - 05MANAMA1605

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001605 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ARPI, OES 
AMMAN FOR JWHITTLESEY 
STATE PASS TO USDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, KSCA, SENV, EAGR, ECON, PREL, BA, WHO, FAO 
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN'S AVIAN INFLUENZA PREPAREDNESS 
 
REF: STATE 195603 
 
1. This an action cable; please see paragraph 10. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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2. (U) Ministry of Public Health Director of Public Health 
Dr. Sameer Abdulla Khalfan found International Partnership on 
Avian and Pandemic Influenza (IPAPI) meeting summaries 
(reftel) useful and consistent with the focus of an October 
24 emergency GCC meeting on Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) 
preparedness.  Khalfan said the GCC is calling for a 
regionally-coordinated response.  He highlighted a number of 
steps the GOB is taking to meet the Bird Flu threat.  He 
noted that the Ministry of Agriculture has ordered Bird Flu 
vaccine for Bahraini poultry and requested any information on 
the specifications and use of the bird vaccine.  The 
importation of live birds has been banned.  Poultry meat must 
be certified Bird Flu-free.  Khalfan acknowledged that these 
measures would be inadequate to stem the entry of wild birds 
into Bahrain, which lies in their migratory path.  He said 
the Health Ministry has ordered enough Tamiflu to treat up to 
a third of Bahrain's population.  The GOB has allocated BD 
448 thousand (approximately $1.2 million) to combat Bird Flu 
and other animal diseases.  End Summary. 
 
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IPAPI AND GCC MEETINGS REVIEWED 
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3. (U) Econoff called on Ministry of Public Health Director 
of Public Health Dr. Sameer Abdulla Khalfan October 30 to 
discuss reftel summaries of the first meeting of the 
International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza 
(IPAPI).  Khalfan said he found the summaries useful and 
noted that the focus was consistent with Gulf Cooperation 
Council (GCC) Health Ministries' concern over Bird Flu. 
 
4. (U) Khalfan said he had attended an emergency GCC meeting 
in Riyadh October 24 to discuss the most effective 
precautions against Avian Influenza amid warnings that the 
virus poses a threat to the Gulf region.  He said the GCC has 
called for a regionally-coordinated response to the Bird Flu 
threat and that Bahrain is readying a robust precautionary 
program directed by a committee composed of officials from 
the Ministries of Agriculture and Health and headed by 
Undersecretary for Agriculture Kadhem Hashim Al Hashimi. 
 
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AGRICULTURE MINISTRY INITIATIVES 
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5. (U) Khalfan said the Ministry of Agriculture is testing 
for Bird Flu at farms throughout the country on a continuous 
basis and is spraying farms with disinfectant at no cost to 
farmers.  He added that the Ministry of Agriculture is also 
conducting prevention awareness seminars for farmers. 
 
6. (U) Khalfan added that the Ministry of Agriculture has 
ordered four million doses of Bird Flu vaccine to be 
administered to local poultry.  The doses are set to arrive 
in February 2006.  He was unfamiliar with the specifications 
of the vaccine and expressed concern over whether the viral 
specimen it utilizes is non-living or live-attenuated, which 
contains live viral specimens rendered too weak to reproduce. 
 He requested any available information the USG may have on 
the poultry vaccine, including the advisability of its use. 
 
7. (U) Khalfan said that only those countries certified as 
free of Bird Flu would be allowed to export poultry meat to 
Bahrain.  He said the Prime Minister had issued a decree 
banning the importation of live birds from any country. 
Ministry of Agriculture officials are stationed at all major 
national entry points, including the Bahrain International 
Airport, the King Fahad Causeway and all sea ports.  Any live 
birds intercepted are killed on the spot or returned to their 
country of origin.  However, Khalfan acknowledged that these 
measures would be ineffective in stemming the entry of wild 
birds into Bahrain.  (Note: Bahrain is in the path of 
autumnal migration of temperate Asian birds that may carry 
Bird Flu.  End Note.) 
 
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HEALTH MINISTRY PREPARATIONS 
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8. (U) Khalfan said the Ministry of Health is ramping up its 
facilities to be able to test humans for Bird Flu.  He said 
the Ministry will also vaccinate bird handlers and poultry 
workers to protect them against a routine flu virus.  He 
explained that workers contracting a normal flu could 
consequently suffer weakened immune systems, making them more 
susceptible to Bird Flu (H5N1).  Khalfan noted that the GOB 
has ordered sufficient doses of Tamiflu to treat up to a 
third of Bahrain's population. 
 
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ADDITIONAL FUNDS ALLOCATED 
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9. (U) The English-language Gulf Daily News reported November 
1 that the GOB has thus far allocated BD 448 thousand 
(approximately $1.2 million) to combat Bird Flu and other 
animal diseases.  Part of the money will go to expand the 
Ministry of Agriculture's animal and avian quarantine center. 
 The center currently has the capacity to house twenty 
thousand birds. 
 
10. (U) Action Request: Per Khalfan's request in paragraph 6, 
please provide any available official USG information on 
currently available H5N1 vaccines for birds, including the 
advisability of their use. 
 
 
MONROE