*Update: March 30, 2022/ 14:25 p.m
Author: Merxhan Daci
" I have a poultry farm in Qenas Village, Fier, I have 8 thousand Italian birds. There are no deaths, the analyses were taken and there was no problem! The high costs of raising birds with the increase in the price of grains and oil and the blockage of the market in this way means that there is a risk of bankruptcy for many establishments ." This is how a citizen begins his alert for "Sinjalizo".
He goes on to say that the risk of bankruptcy is knocking at his door.
"The flu has fallen to laying hens that are for hatching. Damage of hundreds of millions of Lek. The damage is very great and there is a risk of total bankruptcy if this situation continues like this for a few days", the citizen from Fieri continues the alert.
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" They haven't done any prevention, nothing has been done." Insisting that the institutions ignored the situation, this is how Ariel Vasili, a University specialist for the Clinic, Management and Breeding of Wild and Exotic Animals, begins his conversation with "Sinjalizo." Competent in such situations, Vasili speaks openly about bird flu, exposing the state's responsibility but also underlining the consequences.
"The management became very bad from the moment they tried to hide it. It was ridiculous. The moment we started and denied the rumors coming from the media, we wasted our time. The management should have been better for the propaganda we have, this does not mean that something was not done, but it was delayed, we were too late, with a viral disease of this cadre, the hours are very critical, the moment we lose 12 hours, we have lost 30% of the opportunities to do something , "says Vasili.
In fact, in the middle of March when the news, albeit sporadic, about the death of chickens mainly in Durrës had started, the Ministry of Agriculture through the National Agency of Veterinary and Plant Protection gave the guarantee that it was not about bird flu but about laryngotrache.
"The Ministry of Agriculture informs the public opinion that there is no case of avian influenza (bird flu) in Albania so far. After the analyzes carried out on three different dates and with over 60 samples, the results obtained from the samples sent by the National Veterinary and Plant Protection Agency to the certified laboratory at the Institute for Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine categorically exclude the viral disease of bird flu ".
However, days later, the response from ISUV was that the samples taken had resulted in bird flu.
Even for Edi Ferro, manager and specialist of breeding farms, the situation was managed slowly and unprofessionally.
" Because the human resources in key institutions such as the Food Safety and Veterinary Institute and the Veterinary Agency are not functioning. The veterinary service has been destroyed and it is very difficult to make it as it was because it is easy to destroy it, on the other hand, the Veterinary Institute is not functioning with experts in the field. For two weeks in a row, the Food Safety Institute has declared that we are dealing with laryngitis. Quick measures could be taken ," he told "Sinjalizo".
As for the burial process, Ferro is of the opinion that this process lasted as a result of the dysfunction of the cooperation between the Veterinary Service, in coordination with the Ministry of Environment. He adds that some of the people who are dealing with the management of this situation are out of the profession and without experience.
However, focusing on the problems, the well-known veterinarian Vasili says, among other things, that Albania does not have reference laboratories on many animal diseases.
" Our laboratories have not bad equipment, but they have very unqualified, backward staff. If we have such vigilance on the ground, in the future we may have people dying because the state does not recognize the veterinarian ," said Vasili.
As a specialist for the clinic, management and breeding of wild and exotic animals, Vasili goes further as he says with conviction that the bird flu in Albania was previously signaled by the neighboring countries.
"We had alerts from neighboring countries, I'm sure it went to the Ministry of Environment, if I were like these chicken businessmen, I would go to the ministry and tell them why you didn't report it? It is not reported now, it has been at least since February, the first days. There are people who are being paid very good salaries to do a job they don't do at all. The reporting gave the Albanian state the opportunity to be prepared down to the last detail.
"Sinjalizo" asked the Ministry of Environment to confirm if they had previously received a report on bird flu as an institution, but they told us that this is not their responsibility.
What is bird flu or Avian Influenza and can humans be affected?
According to the World Organization for Animal Health, avian influenza (AI) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects several species of birds (chickens, turkeys, quails, seabirds, etc.), as well as domestic and wild birds. Occasionally mammals, including humans, can contract bird flu.
The UK Health Safety Agency confirmed in January 2022 a case of bird flu in a person in the south west of England.
The agency noted that bird-to-human transmission of bird flu is very rare and only a small number have previously occurred.
Ervin Resulaj, a veterinarian who works in the Fier-Lushnje area, told "Sinjalizo" that there is no increased risk for consumers.
"No. And cases in the world are sporadic. But extra care should be taken. Meat and eggs should be treated at high temperature. Above 70C⁰”.
Veterinarian Ariel Vasili also said that it may happen that people get affected, but the cases are rare.
"Normally, it is transmitted to people who have had direct contact with the chicken in the chicken coop, chicken coop workers, farmers. They should be seen because they can start to have problems, pulmonary irritations, which do not lead to mortality, but which there have been cases and why they are very rare".
How is the situation in the regions of the country?
The most problematic situation has been in the Durrës area, where some of the companies that have their own egg factories are located. So far, there are more than 500 dead chickens.
Dodë Ramaj, from the Veterinary Service Sector of Lezhë District, said that there were no problems in this district.
"There is no case of viral infection, there are no problems, until the moment we are communicating."
Sulejman Kullolli, Director of the Regional Directorate of Veterinary and Plant Protection Tirana also said that they have not reported any cases of bird flu in this region.
Adila Kojdheli, Director of the Regional Veterinary and Plant Protection Directorates of Vlora, Fier and Gjirokastër also said that in these three counties there were no identified problems.
"There have been no reported problems in our three districts. Veterinarians are on the ground all the time. Right now, as we speak, we are in Divjaka, a case was suspected, but we are not dealing with a virus," he said confidently.
Divjaka's case, unlike this statement, later turned out to be positive, thus confirming bird flu in Fier county as well.
What could have gone wrong? The Durrës Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation, the companies talk about millions of euros in losses
Edi Ferro says that there have been some possible negligences that have brought about this situation.
" The companies are certainly highly technical, but normally the mistake must have been fatal in the way manure, dead carcasses, etc. are eliminated. As long as state specialists do not properly carry out daily details, the elimination of dead carcasses, the storage of manure, the monthly checks are done properly and not fictitiously, a small error in the safety chain turns into a major risk, the disease is entering thousands of chickens, then it spreads ," said Ferro.
Veterinarian Ariel Vasili is also of the opinion that there may have been negligence.
" Apparently, in these facilities there were small negligences that became a big one, these are mistakes that were made in Germany, for example, but everyone was fired. We need to have a higher level than what we have at the moment. The work system in the poultry farms needs to start changing a bit because there was a mistake made in how the facility was built ," he told "Sinjalizo".
Anita Jella, head of the Durrës Prosecutor's Office, told "Sinjalizo" that an investigation has been opened for bird flu in Albania, although she did not give many details.
" The first actions have been taken and criminal proceedings have been registered, articles 207 and 248 of the criminal code ," said Jella.
Andi Duka, representative of the AIBA company in Durrës, told "Sinjalizo" that they are still making their balance, but that so far the damages amount to several million euros.
"We will still need work to calculate the total damage, but it is estimated that the damage is somewhere around 3 million euros."
The duke added that at the moment, the issue is not about the dead chickens, but about receiving an elimination order from the Ministry of Agriculture for the live and infected chickens, currently the largest in number.
" The public must understand that the most important thing at this time is compliance by state veterinary institutions with the contingency plan designed specifically for these cases. According to this plan, every living source of this virus must be eliminated as soon as possible in order to prevent its spread ," he said.
Direct consequences, the price of eggs increases, there is no purchase of chicken meat products
While citizens are insecure, the sale of eggs and chicken meat has fallen in shops and markets.
In a neighborhood market on Elbasan street, chicken meat has remained unsold for days and market employees report a fear of citizens for this product.
On the other hand, the price of eggs has increased. The price of an egg has reached 30 ALL.
The reason for the high price of eggs is the halving of daily production due to the death of chickens from avian influenza. The spread of the disease is expected to bring another price increase, to the point of jeopardizing the distribution of the product in the market.
The companies say that they will start importing eggs from European Union countries, a fact that will come with additional costs for the Albanian consumer.
In Albania, egg production meets local needs. According to the information that "Sinjalizo" has, Albania is at risk of losing egg exports and, among other things, the European Union is expected to bring auditing bodies for our products and if it calls it a country with high risk, then trade problems with the countries of the union may arise. .
Ministry seeks veterinarians amid bird flu crisis
Although it has not yet been managed to put an end to the problems and consequences brought by bird flu in Albania, the Ministry of Agriculture has opened a call to hire veterinarians.
It is not about one or two, but dozens of such that it seems have been lacking throughout Albania during the bird flu.
In total, the ministry seeks to hire about 60 veterinarians throughout Albania, mainly in Tirana, Dibër, Elbasan, Vlorë, etc.
As specified in the requirements that the ministry has for those interested in these jobs, it is required that they manage infectious diseases of animals in outbreaks.
