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FAO Handbook Aims to Help Prevent Avian Influenza in Latin America and the Caribbean
Rome...Aug. 30, 2006...In order to help prevent a possible
outbreak of avian flu in Latin America and the Caribbean and enhance
public awareness of the threat posed by the disease, FAO has just
published a new handbook targeted especially to the region's
small-scale poultry farmers.
The richly illustrated publication, entitled Guide to the prevention and control of avian flu in small-scale poultry farming in Latin America and the Caribbean
(Guía para la prevención y el control de la gripe aviar en la
avicultura de pequeña escala en América Latina y el Caribe) stresses
the measures needed to ensure on-farm biosecurity and prevent contact
between domestic poultry and potentially infected wild birds.
"This information is specifically designed to meet the needs of
small-scale and farmyard poultry production units. The handbook
stresses simple and affordable methods to prevent and control the
disease," said Joseph Domenech, head of FAO's Veterinary Services.
"It is very important for poultry farmers to be acquainted with the
characteristics of this disease so that they can recognize it in the
event of an outbreak, and immediately report it to the authorities.
Prevention is the most effective weapon to forestall more serious
damage and keep Latin America free of this fatal disease," he added.
FAO's handbook is intended for widespread distribution and has been
made available free-of-charge on the UN agency's website. It will also
be circulated among the staff of local veterinary services and
livestock technicians working with small-scale producers in Latin
America and the Caribbean.
The book grew out of a similar publication aimed at small-holders in Southeast Asia,
a region where there was a massive outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus in
2003/4 and from where it subsequently spread to Europe, the Near East
and Africa.
A high level threat
If avian flu does appear in Latin America and the Caribbean it will
threaten the food security of the most vulnerable groups in the region.
In these countries, poultry generally accounts for over 70% of animal
protein consumption.
Such an epidemic would have huge repercussions on this important
livestock subsector. The American region is the world's leading poultry
producer (current stocks are 4,850 million head), with Brazil topping
the list. The poultry industry, which is expanding throughout the
continent, has become a major source of income and employment and makes
an important contribution to rural and peri-urban development.
Healthcare systems in the region's small and financially-strapped
countries would also encounter serious difficulties when trying to
check the spread of the disease.
The role of migratory birds
"Wild birds, particularly aquatic species taking the migration route
from eastern Siberia to Alaska or from Iceland to northern Canada via
Greenland, could introduce the virus into the American continent,"
explained Juan Lubroth, an FAO animal health expert.
Once it reached the northernmost areas of the Americas, the H5N1 virus
would be able to follow North/South migration routes and spread from
the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, he added.
Domestic poultry smuggling and informal trading within and between the
countries in the region, as well as popular cockfighting contests, can
also contribute to the expansion of avian influenza.
Even though the H5N1 strain has never been detected on the American
continent, in recent years other subtypes of the avian influenza virus
(H5N2, H7N3) have caused outbreaks of the disease in Canada, Chile, the
United States and Mexico. All were successfully brought under control
and eradicated.
Cooperation agreements
To address this threat FAO recently approved four regional projects for
the Southern Cone region, the Andean Region and Central America and the
Caribbean* to enhance preventive measures and heighten their capacity
to respond to any future outbreaks of bird flu.
The main thrust of these projects is to bolster the capabilities of
countries to generate and share information on avian influenza, draw up
early warning and rapid reaction plans and improve their understanding
of the risk posed by migrating birds and trade in wild birds.
Among other measures, epidemiological monitoring and diagnostic
laboratories will be improved, as will cooperation with existing
information networks such as the Global Livestock Early Warning System
(GLEWS) and the OIE/FAO Expert Influenza Network (OFFLU).
*The Southern Cone: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Paraguay and Uruguay. The Andean Region: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and
Venezuela. Central America (8 countries): Belize, Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. The
Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and
Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname and
Trinidad and Tobago.
Contact:
Iñigo Alvarez
Information officer, FAO
inigo.alvarez@fao.org
(+39) 06 570 52518
(+39) 338 138 1778
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