By Mabinty M. Kamara
Sierra Leonean security experts and stakeholders in the health, agriculture, environment and water and sanitation sectors have engaged with research universities to review the country’s preparedness and response plan to curtail any possible outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), a disease that affects birds and humans. Authorities view the disease as a global challenge and a potential threat to the nation’s health system and food security.
Since its widespread re-emergence in 2003, the outbreak is said to have threatened human health in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In December 2020, there was a resurgence of HPAI H5N1 in West Africa with confirmed outbreaks in Senegal and Mauritania. The disease has also lately been confirmed in Nigeria in 2021.
“To date, Sierra Leone has never reported or confirmed HPAI in animals or humans, but it is considered to be at high risk. Therefore, Zoonotic Influenza (avian and swine) is among the top six Priority Zoonotic Diseases (PZDs) in the country,” news release from the FAO reads in part.
FAO with funding support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under their Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) portfolio provided technical and logistical support to conduct a table-top simulation exercise to test the country’s preparedness and response plan for HPAI using a One Health approach.
The exercise which was held in Makeni, northern Sierra Leone started from the 21st to 25th June 2021.
The simulation exercise according to the news release tested the capacity and capability of the animal and public health systems to prevent, detect, respond and recover from a potential HPAI outbreak, in accordance with recommended regional and international guidelines for HPAI preparedness and response. The revised Preparedness Plan will help the country to prevent and control incursions of avian and pandemic Influenza.
“The risk of potential spread of avian and human pandemic influenza in Sierra Leone has been anticipated since 2005, when outbreaks of the human-threatening H5N1 subtype affected many countries across the globe, including the West African sub-region. Sierra Leone was considered a high-risk country for the introduction of HPAI because it is on the migratory wild bird route (Eastern Atlantic migratory wild birds’ flyway) from Asia through Europe to South Africa,” the statement reads.
The country also has many swamps and water bodies and it is a major destination for migratory birds. In view of this, Sierra Leone developed an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for the Prevention and Control of Avian and Human Influenza in 2006.
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