CAMBODIA-VIETNAM: Bird Flu Watch on at the Border

By Ngo Thi Phuong, Vietnam News

Va Tron's house is no different from the others in his small village in eastern Cambodia. His earth-walled house with its palm-fronded roof is surrounded by a garden in the back and a large open yard in front. Chicken, ducks and chicks freely roam the grounds.

In the corner of the larger of Va's two-room house is a bed. Near it is a buffalo stable enclosed by dry wood logs and branches. Another area is reserved for cooking, above which are numerous chicken coops.

At night, Va and his family share the room with his two buffaloes and about 40 to 50 fowl. “We have no money to make a separate cattle shed,” the 18-year-old says, “but bird flu has never been a problem in our home."

Va and his fellow villagers are at ease, despite the fact the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza has been capturing headlines since the first outbreak in 2003.

As of Jan. 12, 2007, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that 159 people in 10 countries have died worldwide from the H5N1 avian flu, out of 265 reported cases. (Between them, China, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam account for 70 deaths.) ( http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/index.html ),

This has forced governments to cull millions of chickens and ducks, and causing incalculable damage to the livelihoods of farmers, vendors and small businessmen.

There have been a few cases of humans who have gotten sick from handling dead or infected birds. The WHO has warned that bird flu could lead to a human pandemic if it mutates into a form easily transmitted among people.

Va's family is not the only household to use such backyard farming methods in Pum Tapu village, just seven to eight kilometres from the Moc Bai-Bavet Border Gate where thousands of people pass daily between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Border aids trade, but…

Border crossing boosts bilateral trade and enhances neighbourly ties, both of which are important to Vietnam as it tries to accelerate integration into the global market. However, there are risks.

On more than one occasion, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called upon leaders to better address border issues and create measures to stem the virus' spread.

Despite huge efforts and investments by international organisations and countries, bird flu is still a threat to public health.

“It is very difficult to root out cross-border smuggling of livestock and fowl due to economic factors,” said FAO Assistant General Director and Regional Representative He Changchui at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam in May.

He stressed that APEC members should focus on enhancing public awareness about the issue, and encourage “safe trade in accordance with international standards”.

Bird flu has spread across Asia, Africa and parts of Europe, prompting authorities to adopt policies aimed at greater regional and international cooperation. Sick and dead birds have recently been detected in Indonesia, South Korea, Egypt. A new outbreak was underway in January here in Vietnam, which over the past few years has won acclaim for its efforts at disease containment.

Health experts' concerns are also peaking because the northern hemisphere's winter months are upon us, when migratory birds fly south to escape the cold. The migration increases the threat of the virus' spread.

Animal health officials in Tay Ninh, one of 10 Vietnamese provinces bordering Cambodia, have acknowledged the threat.

“We are worried most about the border zones,” says Ton Thát Han, head of the provincial Animal Health Department. After all, His concerns are justified given that half of the province's population live near the border and are at risk.

Bird flu has already hit a few Cambodian border provinces, including Kampong Cham, Kampot and Prey Veng.

While officials' hands are tied when it comes to birds' natural migratory behaviour, they say they are trying to closely watch the transboundary movement of fowl – including smuggling.

Though Cambodia and Vietnam have banned the importation of poultry from across the border, a black market has developed through the use of small jungle paths. “We have worked hard to prevent smuggling through the border gates, but the problem lies with the pathways,” Han laments. “It's out of our control.”

Not all the chickens being moved across borders are for sale and consumption -- cockfighting is common on both sides of the border. "Local border guards sometimes have to arrest people attempting to carry fighting cocks to the other side, but the number remains modest," says Han.

After being severely hit by bird flu in 2003 and 2004, Tay Ninh province has tightened preventive measures to stem any possibility of an epidemic.

While Han is confident about the "strict application" of local measures like raising ducks in fenced areas, and regular vaccination and disease surveillance he is concerned about "unhygienic farming" in Cambodia.

As in most South-east Asian countries, poultry in Cambodia are raised in backyards. Most households in rural communities have chickens and ducks that are free to wander around. Few families have the money to build a new barn to house animals separately, following experts' advice on taking preventive measures to separate animals from each other.

In addition, farmers don't want to use their already limited income to buy bird feed, choosing instead to do what Asian farmers have traditionally done -- allow fowl to roam and eat what nature provides. But in the age of avian flu these days, this is no longer so harmless -- it also means they mingle with wild animals that may potentially have the disease.

If it were not for the cost factor, authorities are confident farmers can and would take every measure to stem the risks of avian flu.

“The issue of avian influenza control rests with the general population, rather than with commercial farmers,” says Megge Miller, a Cambodia-based WHO official.

Like Va, Am Rady, who lives in nearby Ctram Trea commune, houses chickens, ducks, pigs and buffalo next to his family's cooking area. Right behind the kitchen is a small stagnant pond where ducks swim and catch food.

“Twenty or thirty of my chickens died last year. I don't know why,” says Am while caring for his small daughter in front of his simple kitchen. “We couldn't sell them at the market, so we dried the meat instead and ate it little by little.” He was confident it was safe to consume the dead chickens, since they had been fed with unhusked rice.

Miller admits that many rural people often collect sick or dead poultry to eat or sell for a little income.

Han is also concerned that while vaccination is a common preventive measure in Vietnam, it is not as widely used in Cambodia. Cambodian officials, though, are not exactly anxious over border controls.

“I don't worry about bird flu in my country, but in other countries like Vietnam and Thailand,” says Yim Voeunthan, secretary of state at Cambodia's Ministry of Agriculture.

He explains that despite warnings, many poor individuals look to poultry smuggling to earn an income.

Yim is not sure how many fowl smugglers have been apprehended, but says a number of ducks brought in illegally from Vietnam have tested positive for H5N1. “I know the government of Vietnam does not allow farmers to raise ducks, but some people ignore the rules,” the Cambodian official says.

Indeed, thousands of birds were found earlier in January to have the H5N1 virus in Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces, which are part of the agricultural hub in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

Though the Vietnamese government does not plan on lifting the ban on hatcheries until late February 2007, duck farming is a major source of income for rural communities in southern Vietnam, and this makes it difficult to put a halt to the trade.

Last resort

“We can't request farmers to stop raising poultry since we have no other means for them to earn an income,” says Han, who adds that most farmers do not have the skill or capability to easily change jobs and livelihoods. It is a dilemma officials in neighbouring countries, while trying to manage the avian flu problem, also encounter.

Va, for instance, depends on income from his chickens to pay for his school fees and would be hard pressed to upgrade his farming methods to limit the spread of bird flu. Officials, though, are push forward with other preventive measures and greater cooperation with neighbouring countries.

Vietnam and Cambodia have committed to sharing information and have set up partnerships at the provincial and other levels.

Han adds that Tay Ninh province has tightened quarantine measures along the border, both for humans and poultry. However, the lack of modern facilities and lax supervision during the outbreak-free periods endanger the border provinces, he admits.

Says Han: "Improving public awareness is our last but most vital resort to make sure that gateway areas between the two countries remain free of the virus.”

(This story originally appeared in ‘Outlook' magazine of Vietnam News. It was produced under the 'Imaging Our Mekong' media fellowship programme 2006-07, run by IPS Asia-Pacific and Probe Media Foundation Inc with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation.)