[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1887-S1888]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AVIAN INFLUENZA IN AFRICA

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, the avian influenza, H5N1, virus has 
recently been detected for the first time in Nigeria. International 
health officials have long warned about the potential danger of avian 
flu spreading throughout the African continent, and it appears we are 
now one step closer to this danger becoming a reality.
  While the threat of avian influenza is global, and needs to be 
addressed here in the United States, it is of particular concern in 
Africa. Many governments in Africa are unequipped to effectively deal 
with an outbreak, which requires early detection, quarantining, and 
culling of affected bird populations. And although there are no reports 
yet of humans contracting the disease in Nigeria, recent cases in 
Turkey and Iraq underscore the danger for people who live in close 
proximity to poultry, as is the case throughout much of Africa. In 
areas where birds, livestock, and people are in close contact, the risk 
of the virus mutating into a strain that can be transmitted between 
humans is increased. Additionally, immunocompromised individuals may be 
more susceptible to the disease, and it is unclear what effect avian 
influenza could have on populations already ravaged by HIV/AIDS, 
malaria, and other diseases. Finally, the already overburdened or 
underdeveloped health infrastructure in much of Africa may find itself 
unable to cope with a pandemic.
  Avian flu is an international danger to which no country in the world 
is immune. While much attention has been paid to the problem in Asia, I 
am concerned that the international community has not prepared 
sufficiently for an outbreak in Africa. Particularly worrisome is the 
amount of time it apparently took for the outbreak in Nigeria--a member 
of the recently formed West African Network on Avian Influenza, and 
presumably better prepared than many other African nations to deal with 
the threat of avian influenza--to be reported to international health 
authorities.
  It is essential that the administration develop a plan for managing a 
wide-scale outbreak of avian influenza in Africa, as well as developing 
contingency plans relating to the impact that an outbreak of avian 
influenza may have diplomatically, economically, and security-wise in 
each major region of the continent. I also urge the administration to 
develop plans to support organizations like the African Union to 
develop information-sharing mechanisms and a clearinghouse of 
information related to initial reporting, initial impact, mitigation 
efforts, and management mechanisms to prevent the spread of the virus, 
beyond the initial efforts that have been made through

[[Page S1888]]

the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza.
  Additionally, the administration should identify particularly 
vulnerable regions or countries, and provide detailed plans for how the 
international community can support efforts in these regions or 
countries through both bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to help 
mitigate or alleviate the potential impact of avian flu.
  Assisting the countries of Africa in preventing more widespread 
transmission of the deadly H5N1 virus should be a critical priority. It 
is in the interest of millions of the world most vulnerable populations 
in some of the poorest countries, and it is also in our interest that 
we help prepare regions like Africa to head off a humanitarian tragedy 
that could easily spread to our own backyards.

                          ____________________