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Learning from Turkey

The way the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread in Turkey, reaching as far west as Istanbul, has aroused great international concern. The first outbreak in that country was reported at a turkey farm in early October 2005. The Turkish Government promptly ordered a cull of all poultry in the village and, according to press reports, of street dogs too. The strategy appeared to work as the outbreak died out. Then suddenly in early January, in a different part of the country, a teenage boy, his two sisters, and brother were hospitalised and found to have the feared form of bird flu. Three of them died. Thereafter, reports began pouring in of outbreaks of avian influenza among domestic birds and, worse still, of more cases of human infection. In less than a week, 11 more people were confirmed with H5N1 infections. In East Asia, where H5N1 is entrenched in many countries, the general pattern has been for the virus to become rampant among poultry and then cause humans infection. International health officials now believe the disease has been spreading unnoticed for some time among domestic birds in Turkey. When the weather turned bitterly cold, villagers followed their customary practice of keeping their birds indoors and the close contact made it easier for the virus to infect humans.

It is quite possible the Turkish Government let its guard down rather precipitately after the first outbreak. It also appears that the less developed eastern region of the country, where outbreaks were first reported this year, had neither the knowledge nor the skills required to deal with the crisis. Even after the outbreaks became internationally known, the official machinery did not seem able to move swiftly enough to handle infected birds and carry out the culling. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned that H5N1 could become endemic in Turkey and also pose a serious risk to neighbouring countries. India and other developing countries can learn from Turkey's experience. The first priority should be preventing the virus from spreading and establishing itself in poultry. Prevention is not an easy task in a situation where large numbers of poor people keep a few chicken or ducks in their backyards. So people must be educated on how best to protect their birds, on ways to minimise the risk of themselves catching the infection, and on what to do if they notice illness in the birds. Equally important, the Government must have a drill in place to deal quickly with any outbreak. Efficient and fair procedures for compensating farmers when slaughter of their birds becomes inevitable for saving human lives must be an essential part of such advance planning. Bulgaria, which is currently free from H5N1 infection, has taken the commendable step of announcing it will pay twice the market price for birds that are culled. The old adage about a stitch in time has rarely applied to a situation better than it does today to countries vulnerable to avian influenza.

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