VZCZCXRO5418
PP RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1228/01 1440826
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240826Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2913
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001228 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
USMISSION UN ROME 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: Sudan - Avian Flu Sitrep No. 6, May 24, 2006 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  On May 21, 2006, the U. N. Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) office in Khartoum convened the second 
Technical Task Force meeting on avian influenza (AI) in 
Sudan.  Though the Government of National Unity (GNU) has 
acknowledged the presence of the highly pathogenic H5N1 
strain of AI in Sudan, this information has not yet been 
officially released to the public.  Few AI outbreaks have 
been reported during the last two weeks.  Khartoum based 
offices of FAO, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the 
U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) will present a joint 
proposal on actions needed to mitigate and contain the AI 
outbreak in Sudan to the international donor community on 
May 28.  End Summary. 
 
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Recent Developments 
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¶2.  On May 21, 2006, FAO/Khartoum convened the second 
meeting for the Sudan Technical Task Force on Avian 
Influenza.  This task force is composed of 11 member 
organizations representing various U.N. agencies, Sudanese 
government ministries, Sudan's poultry industry, and the 
international donor community:  FAO, WHO, UNICEF, Ministry 
of Animal Resources (MoAR), Ministry of Health (MoH), 
Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), Ministry of 
Finance (MoF), Sudan's Chamber of Commercial Poultry 
Producers (CCPP), the World Bank, the Humanitarian Aid 
Department of the European Commission (ECHO), and USAID. 
Just five of the eleven member organizations attended the 
meeting.  Representatives from WHO, UNICEF, MoAR, MoH, MoF, 
and PPCC were notably absent.  FAO was assigned to contact 
these organizations, particularly the government ministries, 
to ensure their attendance at the next meeting.  Members 
present at the meeting approved terms of reference for the 
task force, which had been presented at the group's first 
meeting the week prior.  As most of Sudan's poultry industry 
is located in Khartoum, the task force agreed to invite a 
representative from Khartoum State government to join the 
task force. 
 
¶3.  Though Sudan's GNU has privately acknowledged the 
presence of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of AI in 
Sudan, this information has not been released to the general 
public.  According FAO's consultant, few AI outbreaks have 
been reported in Khartoum and Gezira States since May 7. 
The consultant hypothesized that the marked drop in the 
number of AI cases reported in recent weeks might be a 
result of prevailing high daytime temperatures averaging 105 
to 113 degrees Fahrenheit.  However, the mode of AI 
transmission in Sudan has not been definitively determined 
and outbreaks at poultry farms south of Khartoum could occur 
anytime. 
 
¶4.  Active disease surveillance is necessary to ensure early 
detection of additional outbreaks.  FAO's Nairobi-based East 
Africa Regional Advisor for Coordination of Technical 
Cooperation recently spent one week in Sudan kick-starting 
the AI outbreak response implementation process.  Khartoum 
State has trained youth health educators in seven localities 
to raise community awareness of AI prevention and control 
measures.  While local culling operations continue, workers 
have not been provided with recommended personal protective 
equipment (PPE) and no disease surveillance mechanisms for 
workers is currently in place.  Furthermore, the 
government's failure to address the compensation issue is 
likely providing a disincentive for farm owners to report 
additional disease outbreaks. 
 
¶5.  USAID consultant Gavin Macgregor-Skinner briefed Allan 
Reed, Director of USAID South Sudan Programs, on the AI 
situation in Sudan and has proceeded to Nairobi for further 
meetings. USAID plans to hire an additional Khartoum-based 
AI consultant as soon as possible. Post takes this 
opportunity to thank AID/W for Macgregor-Skinner's timely 
and excellent contributions in supporting preparedness and 
response to AI in Sudan. 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00001228  002 OF 002 
 
 
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Next Steps 
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¶6.  FAO, UNICEF, and WHO will present a joint proposal on 
actions needed to mitigate and contain the AI outbreak in 
Sudan to the international donor community on May 28. 
 
¶7.  The final USAID shipment of 2,000 sets of PPE is 
expected to arrive in Khartoum (1,500) and Juba (500) in the 
near future. 
 
HUME