ARMENIA HAS ALL POSSIBILITIES OF QUICK DIAGNOSIS OF AVIAN INFLUENZA
AND PREVENTING ITS SPREADING

YEREVAN, MARCH 27, NOYAN TAPAN. One-day training of response to the
avian influenza was held on March 27 in Yerevan jointly by the World
Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), with financing of the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID). As Karl Fickenscher, the Deputy Director of the USAID Armenia
Office mentioned, the RA Government took important steps in the
direction of improvement of abilities to respond possible outbreaks of
the avian influenza. "I am sure that serious steps are taken in
Armenia, in the direction of securing people’s health," he said.
Representatives of all those ministries and departments who must took
corresponding actions of response in the case of possible outbreak of
the avian influenza participated in the training. Grisha Baghian, the
Chief of the State Inspectorate for Food Security and Veterinary
Science of the RA Ministry of Agriculture mentioned that Armenia has
all the possibilities for quick diagnosis of the avian influenza and
preventing its spreading. In his words, no case of the avian influenza
was fixed in the republic till now. G. Baghian mentioned that
prophylactic works are continued in the republic to prevent possible
outbreaks of the avian influenza: all the transport means entering the
country are disinfected, risk zones are controlled, no poultry
products are imported from those coutries where cases of the avian
influenza were fixed. The USAID envisages to organize similar
trainings in other countries of Europe and Eurasia for the region is
ready to counteract possible spreading of the epidemic.