The Government says it is satisfied that its monitoring system will protect the island from the deadly bird flu virus that has killed at least 45 people in Asia and could become a global pandemic.

“I am confident that we are not at risk,” Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke told the Observer. “The veterinary service monitors the applications for permits… it has to be satisfied that the farm where the poultry is imported from is certified.”

According to Clarke, the strict prevention methods, such as the issuing of permits, prevent the importation of poultry from areas with the disease. He also pointed out that the veterinary service must sign off on a process which addresses the examination of the environment where the poultry is reared and slaughtered, as well as the manner in which they are fed.

He also said that the areas where the virus exists are closely monitored and the necessary restrictions imposed.

“Jamaica is rated, in terms of health profile, top shelf among a lot of other countries,” Minister Clarke said, noting that most of the poultry imported here is from the United States. “Our surveillance system is really of ‘A’ class standard,” Clarke said.

Bird flu or avian influenza is an infectious disease of birds caused by strains of the influenza virus. The H5 virus is the strain that has been causing a health scare in Asia and has resulted in millions of dollars of losses in the poultry industry there.

Humans catch the disease through close contact with live infected birds. Birds excrete the virus in their faeces, which dries and becomes pulverised, and is then inhaled.

Last year, the ministries of health and agriculture, in collaboration with the University of the West Indies (UWI) announced plans to conduct a national inspection of local poultry farms that produce chicken specifically for consumption.

According to Dr Osbil Watson, acting senior veterinary officer for the Veterinary Services Division at the Ministry of Agriculture, the project is ongoing, however, the avian influenza virus has not been found in any of the poultry that has been examined. “Nothing has been found in the birds,” he told the Observer. “If there was bird flu in Jamaica, the lot of us would have it.”

Dr Watson said field officers continue to collect samples and submit them to the laboratory for testing almost on a daily basis. However, he did not disclose how many farms have been inspected so far.

While the island’s largest poultry producers – Jamaica Broilers and Caribbean Broilers – conduct internal inspections of their poultry, Dr Watson said the veterinary service also inspects these firms’ poultry at regular intervals.

Last year, the Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated that about 100 million birds died or had been culled to battle the disease. Until the late 1990s, health experts thought that the virus could not spread to humans. However, in Thailand, there has been a case of transmission of the virus from a girl who had the disease to her mother, who also died.

There have been other instances where it has been thought that bird flu has been passed between humans. Last year, it was suspected that bird flu might have passed between humans in a case in Vietnam where two sisters died after possibly contracting it from their brother. However, none of these findings have been confirmed.

Nonetheless, experts are concerned that if these instances are in fact valid, this could potentially create a pandemic similar to the one in 1918 that killed over 20 million people since the virus has proven to be “very versatile” and has even been found in animals such as tigers and cats.

Last week, the veterinary service said it was prepared to fight avian influenza should it emerge in Jamaica. “We have an emergency animal disease preparedness plan that outlines the necessary actions to be taken during an outbreak,” Dr Watson said.

This procedure, he pointed out would involve the quarantining of the area where the virus was found, as well as the destruction of the animals found in that area. Additionally, he said that the area would be disinfected and depopulated while the necessary tests were done.

Simulation exercises, the Observer was told, are conducted on a regular basis to test the ability of the officers to deal with an outbreak if one should arise. The most recent case took place in Old Harbour last April.

“Jamaica is one of the very few countries in the world and may be even the only one in the Caribbean that has this system in place,” he said.

davidsont@jamaicaobserver.com