. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/602 
9 November 2005 
 
 (05-5254) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
  
 
AVIAN INFLUENZA 
 
Communication from Colombia in the meeting held on 24 October 2005
 
  
 The following communication, received on 31 Octo ber 2005, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of Colombia.  
_______________ 
 
1. My delegation wishes to submit an explanatory communication on the situation in Colombia 
with regard to avian influenza, in connection with a recent notification by Ecuador in document 
G/SPS/N/ECU/7 dated 14 October 2005, from which it is  not clear what measure is being applied to 
Colombia, reference merely being made to two domestic resolutions Nos. 024 and 025. 
2. The Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario  – ICA (Colombian Agricultural Institute) of the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developmen t, through a process of active epidemiological 
surveillance, has detected the presence of subtype H9  of the avian influenza virus, a low pathogenic 
subtype, in three poultry farms in the municipality of  El Fresno, department of Tolima, in the centre 
of the country.  The number of birds in the pou ltry farms affected is 497,500, none of which have 
shown symptoms of the disease or changes in th eir production parameters.  The birds are breeders 
used for the production of eggs for hatching. 
3. This finding is the result of the active epidem iological surveillance measures carried out by 
the ICA in coordination with the Colombian Na tional Federation of Poultry Farmers (FENAVI), 
which is one of the main activities carried out un der the National Programme for the Prevention of 
Exotic Diseases, involving screening for the disease by  taking and analysing samples, on the basis of 
a statistical design, in the country's commercial pou ltry farms.  In the course of this year, 17,580 
samples have been taken, against a total of about 60,000 in the last five years. 
4. In the context of the active epidemiological surveillance exercise, 1,386 samples from the 
department of Tolima have so far been taken and an alysed, 598 of them from the farms affected.  In 
addition, as part of the epidemiological tracing me asures in the area affected, 1,318 samples have 
been taken in 452 farms in the vicinity of premi ses affected, and the virus has not yet been found in 
any other farms. 
5. The ICA, in collaboration with FENAVI, has de termined the actions needed to confine the 
virus to the three farms affected, through the im position of a quarantine, which will be maintained 
until the virus has been shown to be absent.  In each of the farms aff ected a control point has been set 
up, which operates around the clock to guarantee that the measures are applied.  Similarly, movements of farm workers to and from the farms have been restricted and strict biosecurity 
measures are being applied on these premises. G/SPS/GEN/602 
Page 2  
 
 6. While the quarantine remains in effect, no t ype of poultry will be permitted to enter the 
affected farms.  The sheds are also being cleaned and disinfected, and bedding and waste materials treated and destroyed.  The active surveillance meas ures are continuing in the rest of the country, and 
no instances of the presence of the virus have been reco rded in any other part of the national territory. 
7. In addition, the ICA, the Ministry of Social Welfare and the National Health Institute have 
sent a team of doctors, veterinarians and epidemio logists to the affected area, who are conducting 
surveillance measures among the workers on the farms affected and in the vicinity and training the 
local public health authorities and health services providers, as a prevention, monitoring and control 
measure.   
8. The farms affected were sampled by the Nati onal Programme for the Prevention of Exotic 
Diseases on 7 September 2005 and diagnosed as pos itive on 14 and 15 September.  The techniques 
used were ELISA, agar gel immune diffusion (AGID)  test and haemoagglutination (HA) inhibition;  
subsequently, on 22 September, these tests were applie d again, together with PCR and Directigen, and 
the virus was isolated.  Samples were also sent for further study in official reference laboratories in 
the United States with a view to determining the neuraminidase, the pathogenicity index and the 
lineage of the virus. 
9. On 20 October 2005 advance notification was received of the analyses carried out by the 
United States reference laboratory (National Ve terinary Services Laboratories – NVSL) on the 
serums, and of those carried out on the virus isolates in the National Laboratory of Veterinary Diagnostics of the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA-CEISA).  The serums  tested positive for the 
H9N2 virus, and the isolates tested positive for th e type A influenza virus using the RRT-PCR test, 
and negative for the H5 and H7 viruses.  Other comp lementary techniques are currently being applied. 
10. The subtype H9 strain identified is endemic in  various regions of the world and represents a 
significantly lower risk to human and animal health than subtypes H5 and H7.  Following 
confirmation of the presence of H9 avian influenza vi rus, all the Colombian health authorities and the 
poultry farmers' union have been informed, with a vi ew to formulating an integrated response to the 
situation. 
11. It should be stressed that the Colombian health authorities have consistently given priority to 
the principle of transparency, by giving notifi cation of the presence of the low pathogenic avian 
influenza virus, even though there is no obligation to notify the competent international organizations 
of this virus subtype pursuant to Chapter 2.7.12 of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code – 2005 of the 
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). 
 
__________