Bird flu comes to Azerbaijan

Rufat Abbasov and Mina Muradova 2/10/06

Azerbaijani government officials have detected samples of the bird flu virus in dead migratory waterfowl found on the Caspian Sea shore, not far from Baku. The government has wasted little time in putting disinfection measures and stricter poultry controls into practice, while nervous urban Azerbaijanis are steering clear of poultry products.

An Azerbaijani health ministry spokesperson on Friday confirmed that the H5N1 bird flu strain had been found by the London-based Waybridge laboratory in samples of dead birds taken from the Absheron peninsula and southern Azerbaijan. No signs of the virus have been found in humans, and Azerbaijan's "medical services are taking all necessary preventive measures," spokesperson Samaya Mammadova stressed,

To crack down on the virus, the State Veterinary Service stated on Friday that it would kill all birds found within a three-kilometer radius of the infected birds' original location. Access to areas within a ten-kilometer radius of the locations will be restricted, and poultry farms will be placed under tighter controls, Emin Shakhbazov, deputy chief of the State Veterinary Service, told Turan news agency. The import of chicken and chicken sub-products has already been banned since the bird virus killed three people in neighboring Turkey in early January.

All transportation entering and leaving Baku will also be subjected to disinfection. Recently, dead birds were found in a water area near Pirallakhi Island, which is very close to the Azerbaijani capital.

Aware of the threat, some Baku residents say that they have already opted to go without chicken, a popular low-cost food item. "I can't imagine how I will cook chicken for my family being aware that this bird may be infected with influenza," said Rena Kerimova, a restaurant chef who said she quit buying any chicken for her family after the bird flu deaths in Turkey. "Although it hits our wallet since we can cook three dishes from one chicken, we have decided to not buy any more chicken."

Since first appearing in Asia in 2003, the virus has killed some 140 million birds and infected 165 people in China, Cambodia, Iraq, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand and Vietnam.

The virus poses a particular challenge in rural Azerbaijan, where many people keep chickens at home. Although multiple human deaths have been recorded since autumn 2005 in rural areas, none of the deaths have been officially attributed to bird flu.

The agriculture and health ministries have called on individuals to avoid any contact with birds and to isolate domestic poultry from wild birds. The State Veterinary Service has opened a hotline and asked people to inform local state veterinarians about any bird deaths.

Even before the Azerbaijani health ministry's announcement, officials throughout the South Caucasus were implementing tough measures to prevent the spread of bird flu from Turkey. In early January, Azerbaijan's State Oil Fund allocated $100,000 to the Veterinary Service for laboratory equipment to test samples taken for bird flu monitoring. Staff have been sent to Russia to learn how the devices work. In addition, the Asian Development Bank has allocated a $50,000 grant for testing, disinfection measures and the purchase of necessary monitoring equipment.

Editor's Note: Mina Muradova and Rufat Abbasov are freelance reporters in Baku.

Posted February 10, 2006 © Eurasianet