US embassy cable - 05ZAGREB1810

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001810 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO DS/DSS, DS/IP, M/MED/JCTRIPLETT 
FAS/CMP/DLP WETZEL AND MAGGINNIS 
FAS/ITP/EAMED POMEROY AND FLEMING 
CA/OCS/ACS RICK DOWELL 
USAID FOR E&E/ECA/B/ANNE CONVERY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, PREL, EAID, WHO, CASC, HR 
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE: 9 NOVEMBER 2005 
 
REF: ZAGREB 1772, 1741, 1729, 1436 
 
1.  SUMMARY: As of November 9, 2005, no additional 
cases of H5N1 have been confirmed in Croatia.  The 
GOC has begun to relax some of the biosafety 
measures outside of the initial sites.  Public 
awareness efforts are continuing and poultry sales 
are rebounding.  END SUMMARY 
 
2.  The Croatian Veterinary Institute has collected 
over 3000 samples from wild and domestic birds and 
will continue to collect and test samples from 
throughout Croatia.  Within a three kilometer radius 
of the three initial sites where H5N1 was found (two 
fish farms in Grudnjak and Nasice and the village of 
Zdenci), all poultry is still banned.  Dr. Mate 
Brstilo, Assistant Minister, Veterinary Directorate, 
Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that the 
government plans to provide free baby chicks to 
owners who had their poultry culled if no additional 
cases of H5N1 are confirmed within 45 days of the 
previous cases. 
 
3.  Within 20 kilometers of the three-kilometer 
radius of the initial sites, all poultry is still 
required to be kept indoors.  However, Minister of 
Agriculture Cobankovic announced on Monday, November 
7, that the requirement to keep all poultry under 
cover for the rest of Croatia would be lifted on 
Friday, November 11 but the requirement to keep 
poultry in enclosed spaces would remain.  Econoff 
travelled through the Croatian countryside to the 
towns of Varazdin and Koprivinca on Monday, November 
7 and saw some chickens on small family farms that 
were not being kept under cover or in enclosed 
spaces.  However, the number of free range chickens 
appeared to be less than before the new regulations 
went into effect. 
 
4.  Public awareness efforts continue and last week 
the city of Zagreb published an information pamphlet 
on avian influenza and the risk to public health. 
Effects of AI on poultry sales are still unclear. 
According to Bozidar Cikac, director of sales for 
Vindija corporation (a large producer of poultry and 
poultry products), domestic sales dropped in the 
first weeks after H5N1 was confirmed in Croatia. 
Cikac said that sales are starting to rebound as 
media interest in AI has waned.  Davor Popovic, 
Sales Manager, Podravka corporation (a food 
processing company), said that their exports of 
poultry products have declined since Serbia and 
Montenegro banned import and transit of all poultry 
products (including canned soup) from Croatia. 
Podravka exports to Macedonia have stopped as well, 
since SaM is a transit country. 
 
DELAWIE