US embassy cable - 05CAIRO8533

UNCLAS CAIRO 008533 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, ECON, PREL, SOCI, EG, WHO, KSTH, Avian Influenza 
SUBJECT: CAIRO AVIAN INFLUENZA WORKING GROUP (AIWG) UPDATE 
 
REF: A. STATE 153802 
 
     B. STATE 181885 
     C. STATE 183776 
     D. CAIRO 07552 
     E. CAIRO 08073 
 
Sensitive but unclassified. Please handle accordingly. 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  Cairo's Avian Influenza Working Group 
(AIWG) met on October 26 to review post and interagency 
preparedness and collaborative efforts with the GOE, and to 
discuss recent meetings with the Ministry of Health (MOH), 
the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the Ministrsy of Foreign 
Affairs, and the G-8.  Egypt's domestic avian influenza (AI) 
surveillance needs assistance, but is improving.  The private 
sector is collaborating with the GOE on domestic surveillance 
and biosecurity efforts. USDA's Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS), USAID and Cairo's Naval Medical 
Research Unit (NAMRU-3) are actively working to provide 
needed assistance.   End summary. 
 
2.    (SBU) Agricultural Counselor and a representative from 
APHIS met October 25 with Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) 
representatives Dr. Fekry El Keraby, Under Secretary for 
Animal Production, and Dr. Mona Aly, head of the National 
Animal Health Institute, to discuss domestic surveillance. 
The MOA reported that it will work with NAMRU on training and 
quality control.  MOA labs are high quality but lack 
redundancy for some equipment.  They are currently sampling 
primarily food products being imported or exported.  Domestic 
surveillance of poultry remains limited, with only one farm 
per week being surveyed.  The Ministry is seeking to increase 
this figure, and has begun to sample live bird markets. 
APHIS is arranging to send two members of the MOA staff for 
diagnostics training in the U.S., and has identified training 
needs in biosecurity, sampling, and outbreak response 
strategies.  We assess Egypt's domestic animal surveillance 
programs as inadequate, due to the lack of sampling capacity. 
 USAID will meet with MOA and MOH to discuss these problems. 
 
3.  (SBU) APHIS representatives also discussed preparedness 
of the poultry industry in an October 19 meeting with Prof. 
A. Sami, President of the Egyptian Poultry Scientific 
Society, and warned that lack of biosecurity and biosecurity 
awareness, and intermingling of migratory birds with domestic 
flocks threaten the poultry industry.  There is no GOE 
compensation plan at present to encourage producers to inform 
the authorities of any suspected occurrence of AI.  The 
Poultry Association will work with the GOE's Veterinary 
Services to set out a contingency plan for AI, and will hold 
a seminar on Avian Influenza in November. 
 
4.  (SBU) USAID has had discussions with the Ministry of 
Health (MOH) regarding Rapid Response Teams and is 
considering a locally based training program.  USAID has 
funding to sponsor training for small numbers of people in 
the US, and will fund Egyptian participation in an APHIS 
course on surveillance. USAID has been actively developing an 
assistance strategy for Egypt, and is engaged in numerous 
meetings with NAMRU, FAS, and APHIS to support identified 
needs, e.g., response teams, and vaccines for poultry. 
 
5.  (SBU) In a meeting with representatives from G-8 
embassies on October 24, ECPO Minister Counselor discussed 
the results of the International Partnership on Avian and 
Pandemic Influenza (IPAPI), US progress on AI surveillance 
and other cooperative efforts with the GOE, contingency plans 
for an AI outbreak, educational programs for the expat 
community, and information about development and availability 
of treatment and vaccines. ECPO Minister Counselor also 
requested that G-8 representatives engage all ministries at 
high levels to encourage GOE transparency and domestic 
surveillance by the MOA.  ECPO Minister Counselor suggested 
that the G-8 coordinate before providing assistance to Egypt. 
The EU representative said Europe was considering providing 
training and other  expertise based on the European 
encounters with AI.  ECPO Counselor, with colleagues from 
NAMRU-3, USAID, and FAS, briefed Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
scientific staff on November 1. 
 
6.  (SBU) Post will continue to engage the GOE on the dangers 
that AI poses to both human health and agriculture.  Egyptian 
officials are deeply concerned and feel pressure to show 
public action.  This has resulted in the unjustified 
prohibition on import of all poultry goods into Egypt.  This 
order currently affects a large shipment of feather meal from 
the United States, which has been embargoed by customs. 
Ambassador will address the GOE's import restrictions with 
the Ministries of Agriculture and Trade, respectively, this 
week. 
 
 
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