US embassy cable - 05MINSK1432

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 001432 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, SENV, ECON, EAGR, EAID, PREL, BO 
SUBJECT: Avian and Pandemic Influenza Information from 
Belarus 
 
Ref: A) SECSTATE 209622, B) MINSK 
 
1. This is a response to ref A action request.  All 
information is from Emboff meetings (ref B) with 
Belarusian Ministry of Health (MoH) officials, public 
briefings, and press statements. 
 
A Plan for Avian Influenza 
-------------------------- 
 
2. The GOB has a preparedness plan/strategy for 
preventing avian flu (AI) from becoming a pandemic and 
containing a pandemic once it occurs.  The MoH informed 
Emboffs that the plan could be found on the Republic's 
Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology's website 
(http://www.rcheph.by/), but Post's efforts to find the 
report have been unsuccessful. [Note: Post will send a 
hardcopy of the plan to the EUR/UMB.]  Deputy Minister 
of the MoH Mikhail Rimzha is the key figure coordinating 
the AI campaign. 
 
3. The GOB created the plan without coordinating with 
the WHO representational office in Minsk, but according 
to Rimzha, its strategy meets all WHO regulations.  The 
FAO, OIE, and IPAPI are not represented in Belarus, 
although the GOB ratified the FAO constitution in June 
and became a member on November 18.  Rimzha claimed the 
GOB is also cooperating with research institutes in 
Germany, the U.S., London, and Russia. 
 
4. According to the GOB, Belarus is not receiving 
international financial assistance for combating avian 
flu and the only donor ready to provide Belarus with 
extra funding is the World Bank.  Officials from the MoH 
expressed their need for temperature measurement 
equipment to be used at airports and downplayed the need 
for microscopes and other technical assistance, although 
they admitted they would not refuse any donations. 
 
Detection and Action 
-------------------- 
 
5. The GOB first banned poultry imports from all 
countries where AI has been discovered.  The MoH then 
complied with recommendations for its regional 
monitoring and research centers to detect immediately 
the bird flu should it appear. It also has prepared a 
list of indicators for local veterinarians to alert them 
to a potential outbreak.  All border entrances and 
airports are staffed with MoH specialists/doctors on a 
24-hour basis to check the health of people entering the 
country and hospitals received guidelines for AI 
diagnosis.  The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) ordered 
tests for AI on poultry farms and on wild birds within a 
10 km radius of those farms.  The MoA has also 
intensified border control over imports, raised 
awareness among border guards and customs workers, and 
increased sanitary control at poultry farms. 
 
6. The MoH is currently working on a resolution to 
create an interdepartmental council to better coordinate 
the GOB's efforts to prevent an AI pandemic.  The 
council would include all agencies involved in the GOB 
plan, such as the MoA, Ministry of Defense, the 
Committee on Aviation, and the Border Guards.  Post does 
not know how often they would meet. 
 
Vaccinations 
------------ 
 
7. The government has begun massive vaccinations in 
preparation for the yearly flu season, which is expected 
to begin in January.  The MoH's goal is to provide 
Russian produced vaccines to 600,00 people within high 
risk groups, such as children, the elderly, medics and 
doctors, poultry workers, and social asylum patients. 
As of November 3, only 115,000 people had been 
vaccinated.  The MoH did not mention any poultry 
vaccination programs or development of an H5N1 vaccine. 
 
8. Due to its high cost (Eur 50), the GOB is stockpiling 
a locally produced medicine called Remantodin as a 
substitute for Tamiflu.  Although the MoH claims 
Remantodin has the same effect as Tamiflu, specialists 
have told Emboffs that it would be ineffective in 
alleviating AI symptoms. 
 
Awareness 
--------- 
 
 
MINSK 00001432  002 OF 002 
 
 
9. The media has informed the public about AI and its 
consequences, but Post has not seen or heard of a public 
awareness campaign, although the plan calls for such a 
campaign among agricultural workers and animal handlers. 
The press reports on AI outbreaks in other countries and 
the GOB's preparations for an outbreak. 
 
Constraints 
----------- 
 
10. The GOB claims to have a solid plan to detect and 
immediately isolate an AI outbreak.  Post, however, has 
no way to assess the validity of this statement, nor can 
we predict how truthful the GOB would be in reporting an 
AI pandemic should it occur.  On November 10, for 
example, only the independent press reported mysterious 
pigeon deaths in Brest and the subsequent testing for AI 
at an epidemiology center. [Note: The government 
concluded on November 14 that the birds froze to death.] 
Plans of emergency, such as quarantines, culling, and 
disinfections are included in the GOB strategy. 
National legislation would not prevent this plan from 
taking effect because, in the end, the President makes 
the final decision.  We anticipate that GOB bureaucratic 
procedures would hinder efforts to receive information 
about a pandemic in a timely manner.  In order to meet 
with GOB officials, Emboffs must first send diplomatic 
notes to the MFA at least one week in advance. 
 
KROL