This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS ROME 000428 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO/EDA, EUR/SE, NEA/ENA, EA/SEA, OES/IHA 
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA GGOTTLIEB, PMORRIS; GH/KHILL AND 
DCARROLL; AFR/MHARVEY, ALOZANO; EGAT A/AA JSMITH; 
ANE/ACLEMENTS 
USDA FOR OSEC STUMP/PENN/LAMBERT, FAS 
PETTRIE/HUGHES/CLERKIN, APHIS CLIFFORD/DUVERNOY 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH/USAID 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
PARIS FOR GCARNER 
USEUCOM FOR ECJ4 
VIENNA PASS APHIS 
CAIRO PASS APHIS 
 
FROM THE U.S. MISSION TO THE UN AGENCIES IN ROME 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAGR EAID CASC SENV SOCI TBIO NI UP AM AJ GG FAO WHO AVIAN INFLUENZA
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: FAO UPDATE ON NIGERIA 
 
REF: (A) 05 ROME 3949; (B) 05 ROME 3320; (C) 05 ROME 2979; 
 
(D) 05 ROME 1142; (E) 05 ROME 3976; (F) 06 ROME 0087; 
(E) 06 ROME 0000; (F) 06 UNROME 0315 
 
¶1.  From February 8-10, USMISSION UN Rome staff met with 
Juan Lubroth, FAO Senior Veterinary Officer, to discuss the 
current situation in Nigeria. 
 
¶2.  In these discussions, Lubroth reported the following: 
 
-- Two children are suspected of having contracted the 
virus.  A WHO assessment arrives in Nigeria during the 
evening of February 10th and will release the test results 
of the two children. 
-- The two FAO veterinarians stationed in-country have been 
deployed, one to the North and the other fixed in Abuja. 
The latter conducts daily afternoon conference calls with 
FAO/Rome. 
--APHIS sent Dakar-based Cheryl French to Nigeria on 
February 11th. 
-- FAO Regional Rep from Bamako arrived on February 11th. 
-- FAO Animal Health Officer from Accra and FAO Animal 
Health Officer from Rome will arrive on February 13th for 
two days. The latter will be the team leader for in-country 
assessments.  Meanwhile, the former will stay in Nigeria 
for two days and then travel to neighboring countries to 
review the situation and determine if there is H5N1 
spillover.  FAO would like APHIS' Cheryl French to 
participate on the regional mission, which should end up in 
Mali.  FAO is willing to pay for Dr. French if APHIS 
agrees. 
-- Two veterinarians from South Africa will also arrive and 
form part of the FAO/OIE team to conduct assessments. 
-- The main objective now is to control poultry movements 
in Kano and Kaduna.  FAO will receive 1,000 personal 
protective equipment (PPEs) from the U.S. to assist in this 
effort. 
-- FAO has again indicated that there is no need to send an 
inter-agency USG assessment team now. 
-- What FAO lacks is manpower, i.e., seconded veterinary 
officers, and has asked for USG assistance in this area. 
-- FAO plans to set up a regional Emergency Center for 
Transboundary Animal Disease Operations (ECTAD) in Cairo or 
Accra.  ECTAD will help improve surveillance and response 
in West Africa. 
 
¶3.  Earlier on February 8th, Dr. Lubroth confirmed that the 
FAO/OIE reference lab in Padua had positively identified 
H5N1 in poultry samples sent via FAO from Nigeria.  Lubroth 
stated FAO was tracking the disease mid-week upon the 
release of an OIE broadcast.  He also noted that 
surveillance worked well in Nigeria because of the 
extensive unilateral trust fund (UTF) project being run by 
FAO.  The UTF has fisheries, livestock, crop and 
transboundary animal disease (TAD) components and includes 
an extensive network of 109 model sites that monitor animal 
diseases.  FAO hopes to triple the number of sites to 327. 
 
¶4.  US MISSION UN ROME will continue to cover and widely 
disseminate information on FAO activities to combat and 
control Avian Influenza. 
 
HALL