US embassy cable - 05DUSHANBE1856

UNCLAS  DUSHANBE 001856 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR/CACEN, SA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ECON, EAGR, EAID, TBIO, SENV, KSCA, SOCI, TI, KSTH, WHO 
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN:  GOVT UNABLE TO HANDLE POTENTIAL AVIAN FLU 
OUTBREAK 
 
REF: STATE 00209622 
 
This cable is in response to STATE 00209622: Request for 
Information on Avian and Pandemic Influenza 
 
PREPAREDNESS/COMMUNICATION 
 
1. Head Veterinarian, Dr. Mulojon Amirbekov, explicitly stated 
that Tajikistan is not prepared to combat an Avian Flu outbreak. 
 Tajikistan does not have a strategy for containing a pandemic 
if it occurs; however, various government ministries have taken 
measures, within their capabilities, to avoid an outbreak.  The 
Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health are the lead 
departments working to devise preventative steps.  The Main 
Board of Veterinary Service and State Veterinary Inspection, 
housed under the Ministry of Agriculture, is the most informed 
department and is spearheading prevention.  Deputy Minister of 
Health, Zievuddin Avgonov is the primary point of contact in the 
Ministry of Health. 
 
2. Amirbekov admitted the government does not understand the 
seriousness of Avian Flu, paying minimal attention to the issue. 
 There are no specific funds for fighting an influenza outbreak. 
  The Veterinary Service has brought this problem to the 
government's attention.  Amirbekov believes the Prime Minister 
would be an influential person who could give the issue due 
attention, but he has not yet acted. 
 
3. The Ministries of Health and Agriculture recognize the 
importance of a collaborative international effort to prevent 
Avian Flu from proliferating and would like to join the 
International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza.  The 
government, given its scant resources however, has decided to 
take the "wait and see" strategy and will not join unless Avian 
Flu is at its doorsteps. 
 
4. Tajikistan is cooperating with regional governments only on 
an ad hoc basis by implementing border controls and cooperating 
on testing.  There is no formal regional working group on Avian 
Flu.  Tajikistan's strongest partner is Kazakhstan where they 
are sending sample strains to be tested at the Institute of 
Agriculture and Veterinary Institute in Aqtau, Kazakhstan.  Two 
veterinarian specialists await funding for a training trip to 
Kazakhstan to learn how to combat Avian Flu.  Amirbekov hopes to 
send three to four experts from every region to Kazakhstan for 
training.   The cost would be $500-$600 per person. 
 
5. Tajikistan has requested financial assistance from 
international NGOs and USAID, but has not yet received positive 
responses.  Amirbekov lamented in the press the lack of funds 
for prevention.  According to him, Tajikistan needs $100,000 to 
prevent an outbreak of Avian Flu.  Avgonov has also claimed the 
need for six million dollars' worth of vaccinations.  The 
country does not produce flu vaccines and thus far has not 
bought any vaccines or medication due to the prohibitive cost. 
Tajikistan is open to assistance from the United States through 
bilateral or multilateral means. 
 
6. Vaccines, medicine, or other supplies from donor countries 
will be subject to import laws unless the Ministry waives import 
duties on an emergency basis.    Amirbekov claims there is a 
liability shield in place for foreign donors.  All medicines are 
inspected prior to use. 
 
7. The government's public statements about Avian Flu have 
focused on the limited measures the government has taken to 
prevent the flu.  They have not educated the public effectively 
about personal safety measures.  Avgonov admitted to PolOff that 
even medical professionals had asked for information about the 
virus.  The Ministry of Health designed an educational piece for 
public dissemination, but it has not been produced due to lack 
 
 
of funds.  The Veterinary Service, in conjunction with the World 
Food Program, prepared a brochure to train farmers to detect the 
virus.  Representatives from both Ministries appeared on state 
television to inform the public and alert farmers to sources of 
help. 
 
8. It is questionable how forthright the government will be in 
announcing any cases of Avian Flu.  Earlier this year, there was 
a suspected cholera outbreak in northern Tajikistan, which the 
government attempted to cover-up and would not admit was 
cholera.  The economic and political ramifications of an Avian 
Flu outbreak might encourage the government to remain silent and 
conceal any cases. 
 
SURVEILLANCE/DETECTION 
 
9. The Veterinary Service and the Ministry of Health have 
implemented several measures in efforts to prevent Avian Flu 
from entering Tajikistan.  The government banned poultry 
products from ten countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, China, 
and Turkey.  Tajikistan now imports 95 percent of chicken and 
poultry products from Brazil, Canada, and the United States. 
Ninety-five percent of eggs are imported from Iran. 
 
10. The Chief Veterinarian believes that because vaccines are 
prohibitively expensive, the most effective and easiest way to 
stave off a pandemic would be to eliminate or quarantine the 
birds.  The government is working on developing the country's 
own supply of healthy poultry products and therefore has imposed 
a quarantine on all of the country's large poultry farms.  In 
addition, Tajikistan has begun to more closely control its 
border with Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and China.  The Head 
Veterinarian sought permission from the State Committee for 
Environmental Protection and Forestry to shoot migratory birds 
and test them for the virus.  Experts from the Veterinary 
Service have begun to inspect chicken and poultry products in 
the local markets and on all poultry farms. 
 
11. Tajikistan used diagnostics equipment purchased from Russia 
to test 200 strain samples at facilities in country.  However, 
Kazakhstan has more sensitive and reliable equipment and the 
previously tested strains are being sent to Kazakhstan to be 
retested.  Because Tajikistan relies on Kazakhstan, there will 
inevitably be a lag. 
 
12. Tajikistan's veterinarians have also developed a project for 
monitoring and studying immune-biological features of pathogenic 
organisms for Avian Flu, which they hope to implement in 
2006-2008.  However, they lack funds to carry out the project. 
The most requested funding is to train Tajik experts to monitor 
and detect the problem. 
 
 
RESPONSE/CONTAINMENT 
 
13. Tajikistan has no official plan to respond to an outbreak of 
even one case of Avian Flu.  Due to a lack of funds, the 
government cannot stockpile antiviral medication, vaccines or 
protective gear for the population.  If a case occurs, the 
government would attempt to localize it by quarantining the farm 
or local village, eliminating infected birds, and disinfecting 
contaminated facilities.  Tajikistan purchased three tons of 
disinfectants from Russia for these purposes.  There is no 
response plan in place to deal with a human contraction of the 
virus. 
HOAGLAND 
 
 
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