Q & A: ‘People Still Not Aware of Dangers of Avian Flu’

VIENTIANE (Newsmekong/IPS) -Avian flu poses a mix of challenges for a Least Developing Country like Laos, which also to watch transboundary movement of fowl with the four countries it shares borders with, according to Dr Bounkhouang Khambounheuang, Director General of the Livestock and Fisheries Department of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Vientiane, Laos. He is also with the National Committee for Communicable Disease Control, the body responsible for overseeing efforts at controlling avian flu.

In a talk with Ounkeo Souksavanh for IPS Asia-Pacific’s Imaging Our Mekong programme, he looks back at the lessons the country has learned during four outbreaks since 2004.

Q: How would you assess the success or failure of Laos’s campaign against avian flu?

As you know, there have been four outbreaks of this disease in Laos since 2004. During this time, we have been able to learn about the successes and limitations of our efforts to control avian flu.

One of our major limitations of is that out of the total number of poultry in Laos, about 20 million, according to our statistics 500,000 birds are on farms and the rest are being raised in private houses. This makes the disease hard to control. Another factor is that the system of reporting information on avian flu to local people is often delayed. Diagnosis of disease can take many days because it is dependent on a central laboratory in Vientiane and the samples of infected birds that need to be tested for H5N1 are transported by land.

Our successes in combating avian flu include setting up a committee to combat the disease extending from the central to the local level. This means that in the event of an outbreak we can move quickly to ban the movement of poultry. The control of the outbreak in the northern Province of Luang Namtha early this year was effective because we were able to rapidly control its spread to other provinces.

Q: What are the lessons from previous bouts of avian flu and the government’s attempts to control it?

The key lesson is that all local health officials have to be trained to control avian flu as soon as it occurs. We have provided a telephone number for the public to inform us in case they find that their birds die for no reason. The effective culling of birds in the area where there is an outbreak is also important.

Another important lesson is to make sure the H5N1 virus does not have contact with human beings. The local authorities must immediately report cases of death in poultry to the National Committee for Communicable Disease Control, the central committee responsible for the control of avian flu.

Q: What in your view is the single biggest challenge facing Laos in terms of combating the disease?

As mentioned above, the biggest challenge is that the majority of birds are raised by people in their homes, not on farms. It is much easier to control an outbreak of avian flu when it occurs in larger farms. The movement of birds not only within Laos but also from neighbouring countries is also a significant challenge. Everyday, a lot of chickens enter Laos legally as well illegally, increasing the risk of an outbreak.

Q: What measures are the government currently relying on to prevent the spread of avian flu, especially given that harvest season is approaching?

Even though there are currently no outbreaks, the government has a strategic plan in place to control the disease. The Department of Livestock and Fisheries has been assigned by the government to work on avian flu and our efforts must go on even when there is no outbreak. This means holding training for village-level officials to know how to counter cases of H5N1 once they are found.

Q: What are the main geographical areas in Laos you are targeting?

We are on alert for avian flu in areas where the outbreaks have previously occurred and along borders with neighbouring countries that have experienced a serious outbreak. This includes deploying health officials at border checkpoints to inspect chickens and eggs imported into Laos.

Q: What are the main causes of the two deaths from H5N1 virus in 2007? Is it because of lack of knowledge about avian flu or limited treatment services in Laos?

I think the main cause is people are not aware of the danger of avian flu. They lack information on how to protect themselves from infection, and the term “avian flu” is new for them. Local people are also still likely to cook and eat sick poultry that has the disease.

Q: What challenges are there in preventing the spread of bird flu across Laos’s land borders with Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Thailand?

The movement of chicken products from neighbouring countries is large and difficult for us to control. A major challenge is that in addition to transporting their products through border checkpoints, there is also a lot of smuggling through other channels. The equipment used for inspection at border checkpoints is not always up to the demands of the task.

Q: Can you say which borders present the most challenges and why?

Sharing a long border with Thailand presents the most challenges for us in terms of controlling the movement of poultry. As I said above, local vendors do not just bring the poultry through the border checkpoints, but they will use fast boats to transport them across Mekong River. They know geographical areas well, and how to avoid the eyes of authorities.

Q: Do you think bird flu control is just an issue for rural areas or do urban people need to be more aware also?

I think it is not only issue for rural areas but for urban areas as well. On one hand, we disseminate information on avian flu to people in rural areas, but it is sometimes difficult for us to do so because road and communication systems are not always good across the country. On the other hand, we have to be alert on the possibility of outbreak in urban areas with a large population.

In terms of the four outbreaks of avian flu we have had since 2004, these have been more common in urban areas where the consumption of chicken is greater.

Q: How is the government handling compensation for culling birds to control the outbreak?

The government has set aside a budget to compensate people for slaughtering their birds to counter outbreaks of the disease. We do everything we can to ensure that the owners get paid for any birds that are culled. If we do not pay them, they will not give us their cooperation and will keep their birds hidden. The compensation is based on 60 percent of total value of the chicken culled. Of course, we accept that the payment is made late because we have to take time to record the number of culled birds.

Q: What is the socio-economic impact, particularly for small farmers, of the measures that Laos is adopting?

We accept that there will inevitably broader socio-economic impacts when an outbreak happens. Small farms will suffer as their poultries are culled. Sometimes, farmers will not invest again in new farms because they are afraid of a repeat of bird flu outbreaks.

It also takes some time for the situation to return to normal in areas were there has been an outbreak. Chicken may not be available in local markets so people must eat more fish and meat and other kinds of foods instead, causing prices to increase. Sometimes the country has to import more foodstuff to meet demand, with negative impacts on the economy. However, we (Livestock and Fisheries Department) try to support farmers to rehabilitate their farms by providing technical assistance. The government also has a scheme to postpone the time for them to pay outstanding debts. (END/IPSAP/NMKG/OS/AN/JS/08)