US embassy cable - 05DAMASCUS6134

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAMASCUS 006134 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, SENV, ECON, EAGR, EAID, PREL, SY, SYAI 
SUBJECT: SYRIA NATIONAL PLAN FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA 
 
REF: A) SECSTATE 209622 B) DAMASCUS 6129 
 
1.  Following is a translation of the SARG's national 
contingency plan for avian influenza, dated October 11, 
2005, which was adopted by the Council of Ministers 
(including the Ministers of Transport, Local Administration 
and Environment, Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Interior, 
Economy and Trade, Health, and the Director General of 
Customs). 
 
Begin text: 
 
National Emergency Plan Concerning Avian Influenza 
 
a.  Definition of the disease: 
Avian influenza is a very contagious viral disease that 
affects different kinds of birds (e.g. chickens, turkeys, 
pigeons, wild birds, ducks). If contracted, characteristics 
of the disease include blood poisoning and a high mortality 
rate that may reach 100 percent.  Avian influenza is a 
common disease that can be transmitted to humans and cause 
death. 
 
b.  Cause of the disease: 
There are two strains of the flu virus (strain A and strain 
B), which are very contagious. The incubation period of the 
viruses is from 3 to 5 days.  In poultry, tests are needed 
to differentiate between avian influenza and other diseases 
such as avian cholera, Newcastle disease, and other 
respiratory illnesses such as larynx infections. 
 
c.  Historical background about avian influenza and its 
relation with the humankind: 
 
Strain A of the flu virus has had three mutations in the 
structure of the superficial antigen "H," that have caused 
international epidemics that led to high mortality rates in 
industrial countries.  The phases of the mutations can be 
summarized as follows: 
 
- The Spanish flu in 1918-1919 that caused the death of more 
than 41 million people; 
- The Asian flu that appeared in 1957 (renamed as the Hong 
Kong Flu in 1968) that caused many mortalities; 
- From 1997-2003, a limited number of illnesses have been 
caused by a new strain A (called H5N1), which appeared in 
Hong Kong and has been shown be directly transmitted from 
birds to people; 
- The disease has been reported in North and South America, 
Africa, Europe, the U.K., and recently in southeast Asia. 
It has not yet been reported in Syria. 
 
d.  The national policy: 
 
The national policy contains a number of health-related and 
administrative measures that aim to: 
 
- Prevent the entry of contagious diseases into Syria, 
though no cases have yet been reported; 
- Monitor the development of avian influenza throughout the 
world and all scientific updates related to it; 
- Increase awareness among those employed in poultry 
production through seminars and technical brochures; 
- Take all necessary technical and health-related measures 
to contend with contagious diseases reported in poultry 
farms throughout the country and minimize economic losses as 
much as possible. 
 
e.  These goals may be achieved by the central emergency 
committee.  This committee includes: 
 
- Deputy Minister of Agriculture 
- Director of the Animal Health Department [Ministry of 
Agriculture] 
- Representative of the General Peasants Union 
- Representative of the Veterinarians Syndicate 
- Representative from the Ministry of Health 
- Representative from the College of Veterinary Medicine [Al 
Baath University] 
- Director of the Department of Contagious Diseases 
[Ministry of Health] 
- Director of the Department of Poultry [Ministry of 
Agriculture] 
- Director of Department of Quarantines [Ministry of 
Agriculture] 
 
f.  Mission of the committee: 
 
-  Suggest appropriate technical decision to prevent the 
spread of disease in the country; 
-  Follow up on imposed quarantines (especially those in the 
border regions), and monitor compliance with health and 
safety measures related to the poultry sector and poultry 
production; 
- Monitor the international health situation, especially 
regarding the development of avian influenza, through 
international organizations and committees (eg. WHO, FAO, 
and OIE); 
- Monitor the health of Syrian poultry; 
- Cooperate, coordinate, and exchange data with all parties 
concerned about avian influenza; 
- Form avian influenza committees in each governorate; 
- Receive technical reports from the governorate committees 
if the existence of a contagious disease among poultry 
(particularly if symptoms include respiratory problems) is 
suspected, and study the technical reports; 
- Take all necessary health-related and administrative steps 
in case of an outbreak of the disease in the country; 
- Explore all options for compensating farmers if there is 
an outbreak of the disease; 
 
g.  Formation of governorate committees: 
 
These are technical committees headed by the Director of the 
Animal Health Department in each governorate, and members 
include three to five veterinarians.  The committees will 
achieve the following: 
 
- Monitor the health of poultry in each governorate and 
communicate through all means possible with employees in 
poultry production; 
- Prepare technical reports that include information on 
poultry health in the governorate, which are due to the 
central emergency committee three days after the formation 
of the governorate committee; 
- Gather samples from poultry suspected of having the 
disease and send them to the central laboratory of the 
Animal Health Department, which will provide lab results of 
influenza strains and confirmation of any outbreaks; 
- Provide immediate information on suspected cases of the 
contagious disease via a faxed urgent report to the central 
emergency committee in the Animal Health Department; 
- Increase awareness among poultry workers of the dangers of 
the disease and the economic losses it can cause through the 
distribution of technical brochures and scientific seminars; 
- Continually coordinate with the central emergency 
committee in the Animal Health Department. 
 
h.  Utilizing experts and consultants: 
 
Veterinarians specializing in poultry diseases at the 
College of Veterinary Medicine will be consulted, as will 
all scientific groups and researchers, so that they can 
study all measures taken by the central emergency committee. 
National and foreign experts may also be consulted, if 
necessary. 
 
i.  Current preventive measures taken to prevent the spread 
of avian influenza in the country: 
 
Since the beginning of the spread of avian flu in a number 
of countries, the Animal Health Department in the Ministry 
of Agriculture has taken some preventive measures such as: 
 
- Banning the import of all poultry and poultry products 
from countries where an outbreak of avian influenza has been 
reported, with the recommendation to ban the import of all 
poultry and poultry products from all countries for two 
months as a preventive measure; 
- Informing the Quarantines Department of the necessity of 
enforcing all health-related and administrative measures, 
especially at the borders, and prohibiting the entry of any 
kind of domesticated, wild, or pet bird into the country; 
- Preparing technical brochures about avian influenza with 
scientific references and information on how the disease 
affects birds and humans; 
- Equipping the laboratory of poultry diseases with all 
necessary equipment for disease diagnosis; 
- Providing daily updates on the international health 
situation; 
- Monitoring local poultry health; 
- Quarantining any poultry farm on which birds have 
exhibited respiratory problems, and gathering samples from 
such farms for clinical diagnosis; 
- Monitoring the disease by gathering serum samples from 
various governorates and testing them for disease. 
 
j. Technical and administrative measures that should be 
taken in case of an outbreak: 
 
- In cooperation with all concerned parties and 
administrative authorities, impose a strict quarantine in 
the district in which a confirmed case has been reported and 
take all necessary steps to contain the disease to this 
area; 
- Ban the use and consumption of all poultry products in an 
area infected with avian influenza; 
- Culling and burning or burial of all poultry in an 
infected area, taking into account all necessary hygienic 
measures; 
- Banning poultry production in an infected region for no 
less than one month; 
- Confirming the strain of the disease through laboratory 
tests and studying all possible options to keep other 
poultry healthy; 
- Banning the transfer of all live birds between 
governorates to limit the spread of the disease. 
 
End text. 
 
SECHE