Africa calls for 38 million euros to help combat bird flu

Africa appealed on Tuesday for 38.21 million euros (45.84 million dollars) to help it swiftly shore up its veterinary defences against H5N1 bird flu.

The money would be spent over three years to help strengthen monitoring and reporting outbreaks of poultry sickness, stockpile H5N1 vaccine for poultry flocks and build networks to share information, Modibo Traore, director of the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, said at the avian influenza conference here.

The H5N1 virus, now endemic in parts of Asia, has spread to Russia and the southeastern corner of Europe and Turkey, transmitted there by infected migrating birds.

No cases have been detected in Africa so far, but "the continent is particularly exposed," said Traore, whose office is the African Union's health monitor for trade in farm animals.

Africa is the destination for migrating waterfowl from Europe, Russia and Asia, he noted.

In addition, most of its 1.1 billion chickens are raised out of doors, rather than in enclosed buildings, which increases the risk of infection by visiting birds, he said.

Africa is also chronically short of veterinarians, epidemiologists, laboratories for checking samples and vaccines to protect against the virus, he said.

Twenty-three African countries have no surveillance system at all, he noted.

Add in the risk factor derived from live animal markets "and you have all the conditions for a catastrophic scenario," Traore said.

Traore pointed in particular to the plight of poor countries that are emerging from war or in a state of chronic unrest, naming the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, Burundi, Rwanda and Somalia.

"No country should be left on the sidelines" for combatting bird flu, he said.

source: Africasia