Djibouti asks for help in coping with bird flu

[Sally Furniss]

Djibouti asks for help in coping with bird flu
The tiny Red Sea state of Djibouti, site of east Africa's first human case of bird flu, appealed to the international community for help in eradicating the deadly disease.
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"The situation to date is not so catastrophic, but the support of our partners is indispensible in order to face the consequences of this disease," Djibouti's minister of health, Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil, said at a press conference.
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"Friendly nationals and international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and USAID must provide us, as quickly as possible, equipment and anti-viral medicines so that we can prepare for any eventuality," he said.
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Laboratory tests last week confirmed that a two-year-old girl from a rural village in the Arta district near the border with Somalia had been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, according to the WHO.
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Miguil said the child was in stable condition, and that two siblings who had shown symptoms of the illness were under observation. "We are awaiting test results" from the US Naval Medical Research unit in Egypt for the other two children, he said.
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Djibouti, which counts some 700,000 inhabitants, is the second African nation after Egypt in which a human case of bird flu has been verified. In Egypt, five people have died from the disease.

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/118384.asp [T42 - added URL ]

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Djibouti asks for help in coping with bird flu

As of June 2004, there were American and French military based in Djibouti and Arta (at the old French Foreign Legion base). There were soldiers with Bravo Company, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, "The Old Guard," and Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, and French Commandos.

Read here and here.

In the CIA factbook ( http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/...k/geos/dj.html):

Djibouti occupies a strategic geographic location at the mouth of the Red Sea and serves as an important transshipment location for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands. The present leadership favors close ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country, but is also developing stronger ties with the US. Djibouti hosts the only US military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism.

Perhaps now we know why the US Navy was involved in testing.

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[Mingus]

Re: Djibouti asks for help in coping with bird flu

other source

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_1933136,00.html

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Djibouti - Djibouti has asked the international community for help in halting the spread of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in its country.

Djibouti confirmed the first human bird flu case in sub-Saharan Africa last week.

Laboratory tests showed a two-year-old girl tested positive for the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus.

Her three sick siblings have also had tests for possible infections, said the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Djibouti health minister Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil said more than $4.4m would be needed to fight the spread of the virus in the Red Sea country of 300 000.

He said the money would be needed to train medical staff, put in surveillance networks and get laboratory equipment and drugs.

"The situation is under control but we are asking for co-operation from partners so that the situation does not worsen," said Miguil on Sunday.

He said the girl, from a poor rural area near Somalia, was in stable condition and her family had undergone blood tests.

According to the WHO, there have been more than 200 bird flu cases in 10 countries - including Djibouti - since late 2003, and 115 deaths.