‘Nothing to be alarmed about’
THE health and agriculture ministries on Friday assured that an H5N2 strain of the Avian Influenza or Bird Flu that was discovered in the Dominican Republic late last month was not a threat to Jamaica.
In fact, Dr Obsil Watson, coordinator of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Bird Flu project here and acting director of the Veterinary Services Division in the Ministry of Agriculture, told the Observer that the strain of Bird Flu that was found was less dangerous than the strain currently affecting Asian countries.
Jamaica’s risk of an outbreak, he said, was low given that the island was not involved in the trading of live birds with the affected country.
“It is believed that one of the main modes of transmission from countries in certain areas is the trade, but we really don’t have any legal trade of birds between the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, and those birds that were found to be infected with this strain of virus were all slaughtered and disposed of,” Dr Watson said.
“This is nothing to be alarmed about,” he added.
The Associated Press on Thursday reported that Dominican health officials had slaughtered 115 chickens that tested positive for a low pathogenic strain of Avian influenza in an effort to contain the virus.
The report quoted that country’s livestock director, Angel Faxas, as saying that the rare outbreak was discovered in the town of Higuey after fighting roosters awaiting export to Colombia were tested and found to carry the H5N2 strain of Avian flu.
The H5N2 is not a danger to humans, but has produced outbreaks across Asia and prompted the slaughter of more than five million birds in Japan alone since 2005. The more virulent H5N1 strain has infected humans, killing more than 120 people in Asia.
Meanwhile, Dr Watson pointed out that the H5N1 strain of the virus has become so pathogenic that birds no longer survive long enough to migrate.
“The strain of virus [H5N1] causing the highly pathogenic type of infection has become so deadly now that it is resulting in the death of the birds that were thought not to show any signs when they were infected. Even the wild birds which were thought to be immune are being killed by this virus,” he said.
He warned, however, that Jamaica was still not in the clear and that continued surveillance must be exercised.
“There is no position of zero risk because once you are importing products, once you have your borders open then you can actually find unscrupulous persons trying to smuggle in things,” he said. “You will have to be vigilant and have your officers on the ground doing the necessary surveillance to make sure that persons don’t bring anything in illegally.”
Jamaica, he said, has been successful in keeping Bird Flu at bay and that systems are in place to ensure early detection and effective eradication should an outbreak occur.
“Our surveillance to date has not shown any strain [of bird flu] in Jamaica. Thousands of samples have been taken but thankfully, they have all turned out negative,” he said. “We have a surveillance programme in place specifically for Bird Flu and Cabinet allocated $13 million specifically for the Bird Flu programme. The Veterinary Service Division also conducted a simulation exercise in 2006. We have our persons who are out there doing surveillance and the companies like Caribbean Broilers and Jamaica Broilers are on board doing routine surveillance for Avian influenza and other diseases that affect birds.”
Additionally, Dr Watson said laboratory staff and veterinarians have also received training.
Meanwhile, Dr Marion Bullock-Ducasse, director of emergency disaster management and special services in the Ministry of Health, joined Dr Watson in saying there was no need for alarm.
“We don’t trade with the Dominican Republic in terms of bird or poultry so it is really no risk to Jamaica,” she told the Observer.
She said her ministry has a National Influenza Pandemic Committee which looks at the necessary measures that need to be taken by health sector to prevent Bird Flu.
“We have a surveillance system in place and we continue with our training and updating of our staff,” she said. “We have developed a plan of action which we are now going to be orienting our staff and do additional training.”