VZCZCXRO1158
RR RUEHAST
DE RUEHSF #1042/01 2070344
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 260344Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2279
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHINGTON DC 0979

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 001042 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/NCE FOR SCOTT BRANDON; USAID/E&E/ECA FOR RAMSEY DAY; 
USAID/E&E/DGST FOR NATHAN BLANCHET 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KSTH ECON PREL SOCI WHO BU
SUBJECT: AVIAN FLU DISCOVERED IN BULGARIAN DOMESTIC FLOCKS, 
BUT PRELIMINARY TESTS FIND NO H5 
 
 
SOFIA 00001042  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  Avian Influenza (AI) has been identified in 
poultry in Slanchogled (a predominantly ethnic-Turkish 
village in the southern Kardzhali region), where at least 107 
chickens died between July 11 and 19.  This is the first 
suspected case of AI in domestic stock.  Until now, all other 
reported cases of AI in Bulgaria were found in wild birds; 
testing in those cases found the H5N1 strain that is deadly 
to birds but not humans.  The Minister of Agriculture and 
Forestry ordered all birds and poultry products in the area 
to be destroyed while tests are conducted to determine the 
cause of death.  On July 26, samples will be sent to the UK 
for further testing.  The two people who had contact with 
infected birds are under medical observation and show no 
signs of illness.  The head of the National Veterinary 
Service attributes the infections to migrating birds or 
Turkish citizens visiting relatives in Bulgaria.  No poultry 
products from the region have been released on the market.  A 
campaign developed by UNICEF to build public awareness of AI 
will be implemented immediately in the Kardzhali region; the 
GoB has not yet allocated funding for a nationwide 
informational campaign.  END SUMMARY 
 
------------ 
THE OUTBREAK 
------------ 
 
¶2.  Three domestic birds were found dead on July 11 in 
Slanchogled, a predominantly ethnically Turkish village in 
the Kardzhali region.  Veterinarians first suspected that the 
birds had been poisoned, then later attributed the deaths to 
Newcastle,s Disease (ND), which had struck the village 
months earlier.  On July 12, tests came back negative for ND, 
and more chickens and turkeys continued to die.  The first 
positive results for AI came back on July 20, after at least 
107 birds had been found dead.  As a result, 1526 birds have 
been destroyed in three villages within three kilometers of 
Slanchogled.  The Government has disbursed a total of 14,555 
leva (USD 9,500) in compensation to villagers.  Veterinarians 
reported on July 23 that the outbreak was under control after 
the destruction of all birds in the village. 
 
¶3.  The Sofia Referential Laboratory has confirmed that the 
infection is mixed ) both ND and AI ) but it will take some 
time to isolate the AI virus because of ND's predominance. 
Test results thus far have determined that this is a 
low-pathogen strain of AI rather than the more virulent H5 
and H7 strains that are dangerous to humans.  Bulgaria is 
preparing six samples to be sent on July 26 to the UK,s 
Waybridge lab (the worldwide reference lab for N1); 
definitive results will not be available for 4 to 6 days 
after that. 
 
------------------------------- 
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES IN FORCE 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  The head of the National Veterinary Service attributes 
the infections to migrating birds or Turkish citizens 
visiting relatives in Bulgaria.  There are no large poultry 
production firms in the area, and no poultry products from 
the region have been released on the market.  The Ministry of 
Agriculture has quarantined a 3-km zone around Slanchogled 
for 21 days, and will monitor a 7-km swath around it for the 
same period of time.  Within the 3-km zone, samples of avian 
fecal matter continue to be taken for additional testing. 
When the 21-day quarantine period expires on August 10, birds 
will be reintroduced in 4 locations in the region and 
monitored constantly for 14 days.  If nothing anomalous is 
observed, villagers in the region will again be permitted to 
raise birds and the local poultry markets will be reopened. 
By taking these measures, Bulgarian authorities are hoping to 
head off an EU ban on Bulgarian poultry.  Police have 
established checkpoints in the Kardzhali region to prevent 
nonresidents from entering.  Local residents may leave the 
area after being processed by the Sanitary Inspection units. 
The regional police chief has added special police operations 
on roads in the region to prevent the transport of meat and 
bird products outside the region. 
 
¶6.  According to the Minister of Health, the GoB maintains a 
stock of 160,000 packages of Remantadin and 2000 packages of 
Tamiflu.  Two hospitals ) the Infectious Disease Hospital in 
Sofia and the Saint Marina Hospital in Varna ) are prepared 
to accept patients with AI.  They each have 100 packages of 
Tamiflu.  The Government intends to allocate an additional 
50,000 leva (USD 33,000) to the National Veterinary Agency 
for consumables, equipment, and disinfectant materials. 
 
SOFIA 00001042  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
UNICEF PRESENTS PLANS FOR AI AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TO MOH 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7.  On July 24, we attended a meeting at the Ministry of 
Health during which UNICEF presented its Communications 
Strategy for AI to MoH representatives and members of an AI 
Working Group, which was established by donor agencies in 
March.  Representatives of USAID, WHO, and UNDP were all in 
attendance.  The UNICEF campaign includes disseminating 
informational brochures in Bulgarian, and sponsoring radio 
and television announcements in Bulgarian and Turkish.  The 
UNICEF campaign, which will target Roma, children, and 
farmers, emphasizes the social benefits of reporting cases of 
AI.  Because of the ethnically mixed character of the region, 
the Sofia office has requested that its Ankara office provide 
Turkish-language materials, which it will modify for the 
local Bulgarian context.  UNICEF also intends to add a 
component emphasizing responsible media reporting on AI.  The 
materials will be quickly finalized for immediate use in the 
Kardzhali region, and then more carefully revised for 
national implementation. 
 
¶8.  Although UNICEF has been working on this public awareness 
campaign for some time, it has not committed to funding 
implementation on the national scale.  The $30,000 allocated 
by the GoB for AI is intended to fund other MoH events, not 
merely the implementation of UNICEF,s communications 
strategy.  In the absence of GoB funds in the short term, 
UNICEF has agreed to pony up $4000 to implement the awareness 
campaign in the Kardzhali region.  Its local representative 
stressed that the GoB must solicit funding from other donors 
if it lacks the resources for national implementation. 
Additional UNICEF funding may become available in September, 
and UNDP intends to provide $20,000 for training. 
 
¶9.  COMMENT:  The Government,s response to the outbreak was 
prompt, but local veterinarians only began to suspect AI 
after field tests for ND came back negative.  The slow 
response at the village level to dying backyard flocks 
demonstrates the difficulty faced by the Government in 
mounting a quick intervention to stem the spread of the 
disease, particularly since it lacks the resources to 
vigorously implement its National Pandemic Plan.  We are 
particularly pleased with the GoB's rapid compensation of 
villagers for their destroyed birds -- this effort will 
encourage poultry farmers to report dead fowl quickly without 
concern over losing their livelihoods.  The USG should 
continue to advocate a coordinated approach to AI that 
utilizes the resources of the donor community and urges the 
GoB to fully fund prevention and response efforts.  END 
COMMENT 
 
Freden