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04/2006 		 

[ Karl-Hans Zessin, veterinarian ]

Avian flu lessons from Europe

In early March, the World Health Organisation reported cases of bird flu in four African countries: Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Egypt. The World Bank warned that all countries in sub-Saharan Africa must prepare for an epidemic. According Karl-Hans Zessin, veterinarian and expert in international animal health, Europe would be a better example to follow than Asia.


In Germany, we are using high-tech cameras to look for dead birds from up-high. What options does a country like Nigeria have to stem the spread of avian flu?
In Nigeria, it is mainly commercial poultry which is affected. For a start, dead birds must be found and reported as quickly as possible. Farmers and villagers must then be informed and made aware of the problem.

Is that happening in Nigeria?
Not entirely. There is also another problem. Diagnoses must be made for the dead birds that continue to be found. I am talking of government veterinarians monitoring affairs and confirming the cause of any illness.

Does Nigeria have the laboratory capacity to detect the virus quickly and reliably? A different disease, called “Newcastle” disease, was originally suspected in both Nigeria and India. Therefore, precious time was wasted. An Italian lab first detected the Nigerian virus. The problem is that we do not know how the virus will develop. All countries must prepare for an emergency and make necessary capacities available. Nigeria is just one example.

In early March, the World Bank signalled that there could be a mass vaccination programme in Nigeria. What do you think about that?
That would be a huge logistical exercise. If efforts are focussed and coordinated in a major way, it might prove possible to vaccinate every animal. However, vaccinations are a two-edged matter. They only mask the disease, but do not wipe it out.

What should be done to prevent a cross-border outbreak in Africa?
Nothing can be done about migrating birds spreading the disease. Apart from that, a stop must be put to cross-border bird transports, be they legal or illegal. To achieve that, those interested or involved in the trade must be made aware of the consequences of what they are doing. That brings us back to awareness raising. Moreover, controls must be carried out at border crossings and airports, just as we are doing already in Europe. Countries at risk, such as Nigeria’s neighbours, should cooperate closely and join forces to carry out early detection and diagnosis.

The World Bank believes that African governments could learn from other countries affected by bird flu since its outbreak in South East Asia in 2003. Is that so?
In my opinion, the initial management of the crisis in Asia was not particularly successful. It is true that there have been improvements since the first cases of the disease in Vietnam and Thailand, but the problem is far from under control. I believe that every country can learn from Europe. After all, our commercial poultry has hardly been affected so far.

What went wrong in Asia?
Early detection, information, monitoring, laboratory diagnosis, isolation of affected poultry farms, prompt culling of infected animals – none of this went well to start with, because there was no experience to learn from. In Europe, we have emergency plans, and they have been tested. That is why we have hardly had any problems, at least, not yet.

Have Asian countries enhanced their capacities since the outbreak of the illness in 2003/2004?
The disease spread like wildfire in Thailand. By now, Thailand in particular has learned the appropriate lessons from its bad experiences. The country has developed resources to handle matters better in future. Both the Vietnamese and the Chinese are giving vaccinations, which indicates that they do not yet have eradication of the disease under control.

How can donor countries best help African governments rise to the challenge in the short term?
It is not so much material help, which the affected countries need, but mainly know-how, for example, about setting up protection and observation zones. That really has to be done with local resources.

Questions by Tillmann Elliesen.


Prof. Dr. Karl-Hans Zessin
is head of International Animal Health at the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the Free University of Berlin. He has worked in Africa for eleven years in charge of projects for GTZ (German Technical Cooperation).
zessin@city.vetmed.fu-berlin.de