VZCZCXYZ0007
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #0367/01 0601640
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011640Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2949
INFO RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 1316
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 3759
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 8645
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT 2998
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 0854
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS RABAT 000367 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG, OES/H, EB 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR JENNIFER RAGLAND 
USDA FOR FAS/FAA RANDY HAGER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO EAGR KFLU CASC MO
SUBJECT: AVIAN FLU: NO TIME TO PANIC 
 
REF A) 05 Rabat 2532; B) 05 Rabat 2432; C) 05 Rabat 1848 
 
(U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  Please 
protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Although no cases of Avian Influenza have 
been detected in Morocco, the malady has many Moroccans 
quaking in their boots.  The issue regularly dominates front 
page news, rumors of outbreaks circulate at lightening 
speed, and consumption of chicken has plummeted, putting the 
$1.4 billion industry in jeopardy.  The GOM has engaged in a 
vigorous public information campaign to reassure the public 
that it has the issue well in hand.  Pictures of the Prime 
Minister eating chicken on television and in the newspapers 
have boosted demand and spared the industry further damage. 
Agriculture officials are taking training in the United 
States to strengthen the Ministry's diagnostic skills, and 
in spite of a continued high state of alert among the 
Moroccan population, Embassy continues to have confidence in 
the GOM's preparedness.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Fears of an avian flu outbreak are keeping newspapers 
busy and the government running hard to counter rumors with 
an extensive public information campaign.  Prosecutors 
opened an investigation on Feb. 27 against seven people 
accused of spreading tales of avian flu infection at a 
hospital in Rabat.  If the charges are proven true, the 
perpetrators risk five years of prison. 
 
-------------------- 
Chicken: Cheep Cheep 
-------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The poultry industry - which generates $1.4 billion 
annually and employs 230,000 people - has been hit hard, 
losing $60 million since the start of the pandemic.  In a 
move meant to reassure the public about the safety of eating 
chicken, Prime Minister Jettou paid a highly-publicized 
visit Feb. 22 to a poultry farm 25 miles north of Rabat, 
during which he ate chicken on camera and repeatedly 
insisted that the government had done its homework on the 
disease.  Jettou paid a similar media-heavy visit to an 
industrial abattoir 15 miles south of Casablanca on Feb. 25. 
 
¶4. (U) The government's campaign appears to be bearing 
fruit.  After initially plummeting to less than half its 
normal value, the price of chicken has steadily climbed back 
up to around $1 per kilo, still 30 percent below average but 
an improvement from the 65 cents per kilo it was attracting 
weeks before. 
 
--------------------- 
Suspension of Imports 
--------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Morocco has banned the importation of all poultry 
products from avian flu-infected countries, as well as 
domestic birds from anywhere in the world.  On Feb. 27 the 
GOM mandated indoor confinement of poultry on farms located 
within two miles of wetlands sites used by migratory birds, 
and began vaccinating non-confinable birds like ostrich, 
duck and pheasant. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Half a Million Potential Vectors 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) At the nexus of Europe and Africa, Morocco lies in 
the path of nearly 200 species of migrating birds that pass 
through the territory twice a year on their way north and 
south between the two continents.  An estimated 500,000 
migratory birds will pass through Morocco during the next 
two months. 
 
¶7. (U) To counter this threat, surveillance teams from the 
Department of Water and Forests are patrolling 44 wetland 
areas frequented by migratory birds, looking for unexplained 
deaths or other abnormalities.  In early February, 300 
egrets were found dead at a lake in central Morocco, 
prompting a deluge of fearful press.  Authorities tested the 
birds and found no evidence of infection.  Two Ministry of 
Agriculture officials are currently in Aims, Iowa, taking 
training in laboratory diagnostic techniques to strengthen 
the GOM's ability to detect and respond quickly to the virus 
if and when it appears in Morocco. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  In spite of a fearful populace and an 
active press, the GOM appears prepared, poised and 
unruffled.  While responding to a full-fledged pandemic 
would severely test Moroccan capabilities, Embassy avian 
influenza team continues to have confidence in the GOM's 
commitment to detect and promptly inform the public in the 
event of an outbreak within its borders.  End Comment.