No Bird Flu Suspicion Noted in Moldova

Authorities of Chisinau state that there is no suspicion of avian influenza in Moldova, even if foci of this flu were found in both neighbor countries. The Romanian Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the existence on Romania’s territory of 50 foci and 37 bird flu suspicions. According to Romanian press reports, president Traian Basescu criticized fiercely, at the government’s meeting at Visctoria Palace, the authorities responsible for managing bird flu crisis. Authorities’ involvement gives an impression of "dizziness", the head of the state noted, charging Romanian Information Service (SRI), local authorities, Ministry of Health etc. he also noted that such attitude is triggered by insufficient sanitary-veterinary control made at the entrance of the country of the birds purchased for farms. According to SRI report, made public, a possible cause of appearing of recent foci of bird flu is the import of contaminated birds from Hungary, Holland and Slovakia. At the same time, authorities of Moldova state that there are undertaken all possible actions to fight the H5N1 virus on the republic’s territory. The deputy head of the laboratory of the National Scientific-Practical Center of Preventive Medicine (CNSPMP) and main virusology doctor of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Ph. D. candidate in medicine, professor, Constantin Spanu, highlighted that Moldova has under control the situation, monitoring it permanently. Those about 1,500 biologic samples, taken from birds of different species of different areas of the country show no presence of H5N1 virus, he mentioned. More than this, in order to show the truthfulness of these results, a very sensitive test, gene amplification, is applied. About 90 samples checked with this test were negative, Spanu underscored. According to the CNSPMP responsible, as protection measures, all medical institutions were provided with notes regarding the services provided to persons suspected with avian flu. A very serious control was set at the border for some while in order to find citizens evincing acute infections, cars and persons crossing Moldova’s border pass the disinfections filter, and the imported meat is also very detailed controlled. At the same time, the meat import was banned from the countries where avian flu foci were registered. About 40 normative acts on preventing behavior of the disease were issued, he mentioned. At the moment, 9 guard points work in Moldova, situated in different areas of the country, daily monitoring the situation. At his turn, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, Anatol Gordenco, noted that veterinary services were ordered to check all bird farms of the country, border services – to harden the control of bird and poultry imports, and fines for leaving domestic birds freely were increased. Since 2003, when it was attested for the first time, and until now, the bird flu made 124 victims in 218 cases.