Farmers seek compensation amid bird flu prevention measures

Farmers from the northern Sulaimaniyah governorate are requesting compensation from the Kurdish government for losses incurred by the culling of fowl, undertaken to prevent the spread of avian influenza. “We’re aware of the bird flu situation in Iraq, but our livelihoods are related to those birds,” said Omar Diar, a local farmer from Sulaimaniyah, which is located some 380 km north of the capital, Baghdad. “We urgently ask the government to compensate us so we can support our families,” he added. Ever since a teenage girl died from the so-called “bird flu” in mid-January, more than 900,000 chicken and migratory birds have been culled by the regional ministries of agriculture and health, Diar explained. Chicken farming is the primary source of income for hundreds of farmers in the region. On 4 February, after a peaceful demonstration by over 200 local farmers in the streets of Sulaimaniyah, Imad Ahmed, deputy prime minister of the regional government, promised compensation “very soon” for those affected. How much money will be provided – and when – remains unclear, however. “A committee will be formed this week to study each case and record the losses of each farmer,” said Juan Kader, a senior official in the Kurdistan Ministry of Agriculture. “We won’t allow farmers to forfeit their rights, but swift measures are needed to prevent further spread of the disease.” Kader added that over 600,000 birds had been culled to date in areas around Sulaimaniyah and nearby Arbil. On 2 February, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that samples from a 15-year-old girl who died on 17 January in Sulaimaniyah from respiratory disease had been confirmed by a UK laboratory as Iraq’s first human case of the virus. “We regrettably announce that the first bird flu case in Iraq is totally certain,” said WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng in Geneva. Samples from two other suspected cases are also scheduled to be analysed by the WHO in London. One is the uncle of the dead girl, who died on 27 January of similar symptoms. The other is a 54-year-old woman currently being treated for respiratory illness in Sulaimaniyah. A further 12 people are also being treated for suspected infections in Sulaimaniyah and Arbil. Birds from Baghdad and Kurdistan are also being tested. Duhok, one of Kurdistan’s most populous cities, and located close to the Turkish border where 12 cases of bird flu have been recorded, is also a major transit route for migratory birds. So far, however, the virus has not been found in any birds, according to Diar. Direct contact with infected poultry, or objects contaminated by their faeces, is considered the primary means of human bird flu infection, according to the WHO. To date, most human cases have occurred in rural areas where households often keep poultry.