Hugh Martin
JAMAICA, the rest of the Caribbean and North and South America are free of the Avian Influenza or bird flu as it is commonly known. If one should accept the statements by the agencies monitoring this quite deadly new virus called H5n1 by the scientists, it is just a matter of time before it reaches us. These agencies, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) which leads the fight against the disease; the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) believe the virus will eventually reach the region despite the various measures being put in place to prevent it.
The disease had been around for some time but had its first major outbreak in Southeast Asia in 2003. Since then it has spread to a number of countries throughout Asia, Europe and Africa destroying (or has been responsible for the destruction of) an estimated 200 million poultry. Since the beginning of 2006 it has appeared in 30 new countries.
POULTRY INDUSTRY IN DANGER
Spreading at such a rapid rate the poultry industry globally is in danger of a total wipe-out unless some method of containing it is found in a hurry. But containment is proving to be a major challenge because of the ways in which it is spread. These include poor security at poultry farms, movement of poultry and poultry products, illegal and legal trade in wild birds and by migratory birds.
But while the virus is being feared because of its destructive effect on the poultry industries in the countries where it has appeared the real fear is that it can develop into a major disease of humans having already crossed the species barrier to affect humans as well. Up to May 18, a total of 207 persons have been infected, 115 of whom have died. According to PAHO's Representative in Jamaica, Dr, Ernest Pate, speaking at a seminar put on by the Jamaica Society for Agricultural Sciences (JSAS), this is an exceptionally high fatality rate which suggests that if it should develop to a pandemic stage millions of lives would be lost. A pandemic occurs when an animal disease crosses the species barrier and affects man as well and is spread worldwide causing numerous deaths. Such diseases are referred to as zoonotics.
CONCERN
Some amount of concern has been expressed every now and again that Jamaica doesn't seem to have a strategy to deal with this threat to our very vibrant poultry industry and to our health. Dr. Keith Amiel, chairman of the Caribbean Poultry Association and Group Marketing Manager for Caribbean Broilers another of the speakers at the JSAS seminar, pointed out that the Caribbean region produces 205,000 metric tonnes of broiler meat and 43 million dozen eggs each year at a value of US$468 million. To emphasise the importance of the poultry industry he revealed that poultry meat constituted 86 percent of all meats consumed in Jamaica. That seemed a compelling reason for the responsible agencies to put in place adequate safeguard measures before the disease makes its appearance.
The seminar was assured that various agencies including theirs and the Ministry of Health and PAHO were working in collaboration to put in the necessary prevention and containment measures that would protect the health of the population and the poultry industry as well.
One very important piece of information that came out of the seminar was that the H5n1 virus cannot survive temperatures above 70 degrees centigrade so well-cooked chicken is safe to eat even if it came from an infected source. Let me hasten to assure though that the virus is not in Jamaica nor in the region and that we do not import chicken meat from any country that has reported any infection of bird flu.
Hugh Martin is a communication consultant and farm broadcaster at humar@cwjamaica.com.
