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The first outbreak of avian flu in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in early 2004 struck 45 poultry farms throughout the country, 38 of which were in and around the capital of Vientiane. The outbreak resulted in the loss of 155,000 birds, a third of which were infected by the disease.

 

A second bout of bird flu hit in July 2006, affecting a poultry-raising operation on the outskirts of Dongbang village, Saythany district, some 20 kilometres from downtown Vientiane. But this second outbreak of avian flu was not highly pathogenic and did not become so widespread as to have a negative impact on the country’s economic and people’s lives.

The National Committee for Contagious Disease Management and Control, in co-operation with the National Secretariat for Infectious Disease Management and Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Public Health Ministry, embarked on culling operations and inspected poultry raising facilities. Nearly 20,000 chickens were slaughtered and a similar number of eggs destroyed. Total losses amounted to 537 million kip (56,000 U.S. dollars).

“The government of Lao PDR compensated poultry farm operators at a rate of 50 percent of the total value of destroyed fowl for state-owned farms and 70 percent for private farms,” said Dr Bounlay Phommasack, head of the Professional Coordination Office for Bird Flu Prevention and Control, which comes under the public health ministry.

In response, government officials identified H5N1 virus sites and imposed strict control measures in certain regions in Laos. Infection sites within a one-kilometre radius (called red zones) were placed under strict surveillance and a safety area extending over a five-kilometre radius was defined, within which no movement or sale of poultry was allowed. Representatives from the health department were dispatched to provide information regarding prophylactic and hygienic measures to be taken to avoid all forms of contamination.

The mayor of Vientiane, Dr Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune, got a firsthand picture of the situation by speaking to district and village chiefs. He stressed the importance of disseminating accurate information clearly and quickly to keep the virus from spreading.

Sitaheng Rassaphon, minister of agriculture and forestry, made preventive equipment available to Saythany district. These included sprayers, disinfectants, protection suits and quicklime for disinfecting the ground and poultry housing.

PREVENTION, NOT PANIC

Avian flu outbreaks can be controlled through the rigorous application of hygienic measures. Farmers must upgrade their poultry-raising operations according to industry standards. Lao government regulations have instituted three steps to control and eradicate bird flu: stepping up prevention measures, taking the right precautions if an outbreak occurs, and putting in place long-term prophylactic measures.

Officials have said that if fowl become listless or suddenly die, they must be taken in for inspection at the Animal Disease Prevention Centre at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Procedures to follow once the disease starts to spread include destruction of poultry, implementation of sanitation measures and spraying, searching for the source of the epidemic, banning the transport of fowl, and raising community awareness.

The National Secretariat for Infectious Disease Management and Control, with the Professional Coordination Office for Bird Flu Management and Control, implemented five strategies in January 2006. These are: developing a disease-free system of poultry raising, taking precautions to prevent the virus from spreading to humans, improving diagnosis and treatment, raising public awareness through local community involvement, and improving the legal system and accountability of the National Contagious Disease Management and Prevention Committee.

In a directive to officials and the public, Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, who is also chairman of the National Committee for the Prevention and Control of Avian Influenza, has pointed out that the disease continues to spread in other parts of the world.

Among the measures announced by the government are crisis centres set up by the mayor of Vientiane and provincial governors to coordinate their preventive efforts with the National Committee. Public health and agriculture departments are expected to ensure full information sharing from the district to the village level on the status of any epidemic. Officials at border crossings are to step up the control of the movement of products such as live poultry and poultry products. The directive also includes procedures to ensure that the highest levels of government are kept informed and that the right protocol is followed in the event of a bird flu alert.

Any individual who has had direct contact with poultry and develops fever accompanied by coughing or breathing difficulties must get a medical checkup as soon as possible.

Provisions have been made for a surveillance zone to be set up 10 kilometres around outbreak areas. Any case of sickness or death of poultry is to be reported to the village chief or ad-hoc administration.

In the case of Dongbang in Saythany district, the ‘yellow zone’ includes the 18 villages around the farm where the source of infection was found. Three roadblocks were set up. Each control station was manned 24 hours a day by police officers, agriculture and health specialists and village officials. The team was empowered to seize prohibited goods.

In addition, the local government called for the temporary closure of shops selling congealed duck blood and skewered poultry in all the affected districts.

During the precautionary phase, police in the capital city’s Phiavat ward in Sisattanak district caught one dealer who had planned to distribute poultry to sellers in the Vientiane Thongphanethong market. Another man in Thongsangnang ward, Chanthaboury district, was stopped for questioning. He admitted to purchasing chickens imported from Thailand from a resident of Kaoliao ward, Sikhottabong district in Vientiane.

The two were heavily fined, and the confiscated products analysed and destroyed.

In another incident, customs officers at the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge confiscated and destroyed about a hundred kilogrammes of dressed chicken and close to a hundred eggs imported from Thailand. Police authorities in Saysettha district seized more than 200kg of chicken at That Luang market. The birds were brought in from Thailand via Pak Ngum district. At the Ladkhouay village control post in Pak Ngum district, several villagers were stopped with more than 300 fowl from Nasala village, one of the three villages right inside the ‘red zone’. The fowl were to be sold to dealers in Vientiane markets. The owners of the chickens were prosecuted.

In spite of such successes, it remains difficult to ensure prevention and control activities because some villagers have not yet fully understood the seriousness of the situation and take lightly the authorities’ directives.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

In August 2006, a delegation from Thailand made up of 30 professionals and headed by Adisone Phiangk met in Vientiane with Dr Ty Phommasack, deputy minister of agriculture and forestry, to exchange views and experiences in the prevention and control of bird flu. They exchanged data and discussed the resources and measures needed to keep the virus at bay. The officials of the two countries stressed that their objective was to cooperate in stamping it out and to protect their respective economies.

During the meeting, Ty affirmed that Laos has launched a national strategic plan covering preventive surveillance and follow-up activities. For example, he pointed out that when an abnormal increase in fowl deaths was reported on Jun. 14, 2006 in farms in Dongbang, the government called an emergency meeting of various institutions and local officials. The precise areas where disease outbreaks occurred were determined and mapped out. A dozen preliminary measures were decided upon and enforced to control the spread of the outbreak as quickly as possible.

For their part, Thai officials said that only Nakhon Phanom province had been affected by avian flu at that point. More than 300,000 fowl had to be killed.

MODEL FARM

Ouday Phitsalath’s two-hectare farm in Houay Namyen village in Naxaythong district, about 30 km from the capital, is a good model of how farmers can handle the bird flu outbreak. Ouday started raising laying hens in 1998. He would purchase chicks, raise them to maturity and then sell them for 40,000 kip (4 dollars) each. He now has a farm with 3,000 hens that can produce up to 2,700 eggs a day.

Ouday set up his farm after retiring from the animal and fish husbandry department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. His venture worked out quite well: he has a turnover of 5 million kip (520 dollars) a month from the sale of chickens and eggs.

When bird flu broke out in early 2004, Ouday’s farm was unaffected, prompting various international organisations to seek advice from him. “The most important things include proper hygiene, frequent cleaning of chicken coops and giving careful attention to their feed,” he said.