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Viewing cable 05TELAVIV6170, ISRAELI NGO PROPOSING TO TRACK INFECTED MIGRATORY

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05TELAVIV6170 2005-10-21 12:53 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tel Aviv
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 006170 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/PCI, NEA/IPA AND NEA/RA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO EAGR PREL ECON IS ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SUBJECT: ISRAELI NGO PROPOSING TO TRACK INFECTED MIGRATORY 
BIRDS 
 
REF: A. TEL AVIV 6160 
     B. TEL AVIV 5279 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY:  The Society for the Protection of Nature in 
Israel is making a proposal to the GOI Ministries of 
Agriculture and Health to set up a surveillance system 
focused on migratory water fowl which are more likely than 
over migratory birds to be carriers of the H5N1 strain of 
avian influenza.  If the proposal garners sufficient funding, 
it may provide useful information for other countries, by 
indicating the origin and destination of infected birds.  MOH 
is requesting funding to procure enough Tamiflu to treat one 
million people.  Israeli and Jordanian veterinary officials 
have met to coordinate efforts on avian influenza.  End 
summary. 
 
Bird Experts Put Forth a Surveillance Proposal 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
2. (U) Dr. Gidon Perlman, an Israeli expert on avian 
influenza, told ESTH Officer October 20 that the Society for 
the Protection of Nature in Israel is making a proposal to 
MOA and MOH to establish four new monitoring and surveillance 
sites located at the Hula Valley Reserve, Beit Shemesh and 
two coastal areas to track and examine migratory birds, 
particularly water fowl which are more likely to carry avian 
influenza.  Migratory birds overfly Israel from currently 
affected regions, including the Balkans, Turkey, Russia, and 
Kazakhstan.  All of the proposed tracking sites are areas 
where migratory birds from Europe and Asia rest as they make 
their way to Africa. The immediate benefit of establishing 
these monitoring and surveillance sites is to offer the MOA a 
means to limit the exposure of domestic fowl from birds 
carrying the deadly H5N1 strain.  Perlman said that with 
sufficient funding the proposed surveillance system could 
provide useful information for other countries, by indicating 
the origin and destination of infected birds.  Perlman 
stressed that culling wild bird populations was a highly 
ineffective way to deal with avian influenza, but stated that 
better information on migratory populations could help 
protect domestic birds.  The consensus among health and 
agricultural officials, as well as the scientific community, 
is that avian influenza will make its way to Israel and the 
region in the immediate future due to the half billion 
migratory birds passing over Israel annually. 
 
MOH Requests 200 million NIS to purchase more Tamiflu 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
3. (U) The Ministry of Health is working with the Ministry of 
Agriculture to monitor the avian influenza situation in 
Israel, especially as hundreds of millions of migratory birds 
are passing through the region from Europe and Asia to spend 
the winter in Africa.  Through press briefings and 
interviews, the MOH is taking steps to allay public concerns 
about a potential outbreak of bird flu in the region by 
promoting public awareness of measures that are being 
undertaken to prevent the spread of the disease.  To date, 
the MOH has stockpiled a preliminary supply of Tamiflu 
sufficient to treat 400,000 people.  According to an 
interview given by Professor Manfred Green, Director of the 
Health Ministry's Israel Center for Disease Control, to the 
"Jerusalem Post" on October 19, one of the immediate goals of 
the MOH is to procure enough doses of Tamiflu to treat one 
million people. The Health Ministry plans to ask the Finance 
Ministry for an additional 200 million NIS (approximately USD 
45 million) to purchase enough doses of Tamiflu to reach this 
goal.  Green also noted that all four Israeli public health 
funds have an adequate supply of regular flu vaccine and that 
health fund members are now receiving postcards to remind 
them of the availability of the regular vaccine.  The regular 
flu vaccine is free to high-risk groups. 
 
Israeli and Jordanian Veterinary Services Meet 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
4. (U) Top officials from the Israeli and Jordanian 
veterinary services met October 20 at the Allenby Bridge to 
discuss how to coordinate their efforts in dealing with 
potential cases of avian influenza.  Foreign Minister Silvan 
Shalom was quoted in a "Haaretz" article October 20 as saying 
that Israel and Jordan were trying to forge plans to wage a 
joint effort against the disease, since experts believe that 
the disease is likely to spread to the Middle East in the 
near future. The two countries' veterinary services routinely 
work with each other in combating various other diseases that 
affect cattle and birds.  The October 20 meeting resulted in 
both parties agreeing to coordinate monitoring and 
surveillance of suspect birds.  Jordanian veterinarians will 
have access to an Israeli laboratory in Beit Dagan.  There 
will be another meeting in three weeks to evaluate the 
situation.  The director of the Israeli Veterinary Service 
stated that the four laboratory testing facilities in Israel 
are sufficient to meet both countries' testing requirements. 
 
Israel's Poultry Industry 
------------------------- 
 
5. (U) In Israel, the poultry industry accounts for 18 
percent of the agricultural sector and 40 percent of the 
livestock industry. The industry yields approximately 340,000 
tons of meat and 1.6 billion eggs per year. Although many 
chicken coops that house chickens for meat production are 
hermetically sealed, many coops that house chickens for egg 
production are not.  Concerns center on the possibility that 
birds whose migratory paths pass through Israel may contract 
the disease in an affected country, and then somehow come in 
contact with domestic fowl in Israel. If a local outbreak of 
the disease occurs, the Agricultural Ministry will order the 
culling of birds in the vicinity of the outbreak to prevent 
further spread of the disease.  What is unclear at the 
moment, though, is the  economic impact on the poultry 
industry that might result due to reports of an isolated case 
of the disease. 
 
 
********************************************* ******************** 
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website. 
********************************************* ******************** 
JONES