Avian Flu Awareness Campaign in Saudi Arabia

This article discusses the Avian Flu Awareness Campaign in Saudi Arabia, which was implemented in 2015 to introduce preventive measures against the H5N1 virus. It explores the origin of avian flu outbreaks, transmission methods, and the government's efforts to control the disease. The effectiveness of the campaign is evaluated based on the reduction in avian flu cases since its implementation.

Running head: AVIAN FLU AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IN SAUDI ARABIA
AVIAN FLU AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IN SAUDI ARABIA
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1AVIAN FLU AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IN SAUDI ARABIA
Avian flu virus have been in the news for its recent outbreaks, the origin being in
Cambodia (Horwood et al.,2017).In 2015, the Government of Saudi Arabia have
implemented a national awareness campaign against bird flu as a part of public health
measure introduction. The main objective of this campaign is to introduce the various
preventive measures for preventing the entry of H5N1 virus into Saudi Arabian Kingdom.
This campaign has originated in 2015 with the advent of increasing cases of bird flu.
According to recent reports from the World Health Organisation, birds are the main
carriers of transmission for avian flu viruses. Common agents of transmission includes birds
and there are some cases regarding bird to human transmission, which have been reported by
some countries. Apart from close interaction with pigs, or farms, which deal with poultry and
pigs, which have been exhibited, cases of limited transmission from person to person, have
also occurred (who.int, 2019). According to statistical reports from World Health
Organization, first cases of avian flu have been reported in Saudi Arabia in April, and
November 2007 followed by February 2008 with no further cases of outbreaks after that.
However many cases haven reported in Vietnam and Indonesia over the last decade (H5N1
avian influenza: Timeline of major events, 2019). Overall, cases of avian flu outbreaks and its
transmission from human to human have not yet been reported in Saudi Arabia.
The government has introduced several preventive measure for effective control of
the disease among citizens. The first step includes administration of anti-avian drugs against
influenza like Tamiflu, to the vulnerable populations, like laboratory workers, poultry
members. Moreover, proper enforcement of rules and instructions of effective control in
laboratories and hospitals is required .Co-ordination between governmental authorities are
effective. After implementation of the given measures, citizens have been benefitted as the
cases of avian flu have been under control.

2AVIAN FLU AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IN SAUDI ARABIA
According to my opinion, the implementation of the national awareness campaign
against avian flu has been effective due to underlying reasons.
The effectiveness of this programme lies in the reduced cases of avian flu since its
implementation. Due to subsequent outbreaks of avian flu, health authorities have banned
translocation of birds from poultry inside or outside the country. According to a recent news
article, seven cases of avian flu have been reported in Saudi Arabia within past 24 hours,
2018 (arabianbusiness.com, 2019). According to statistical reports, last cases of avian flu
recorded in Saudi Arabia is July 2018 (strain H5N8) (Avian influenza affected areas (Table
1) and global statistics of avian influenza A (H5N1) (Table 2), 2019). Moreover, mortality
rates over past six months are negligible, indicating successful reduction of flu cases in Saudi
Arabia (Avian influenza affected areas (Table 1) and global statistics of avian influenza
A(H5N1) (Table 2), 2019).
For further improvement in the situation, careful administration of drugs especially to
foreign visitors and immigrants is compulsory. Zoonotic transmissions should be decreased
by vaccinations to poultry and farm environment in remote areas. Moreover, awareness of the
health measure through social media as well as through television advertisements should be
encouraged.

3AVIAN FLU AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IN SAUDI ARABIA
References
arabianbusiness.com. (2019). Saudi Arabia bans transport of live poultry. Retrieved from
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/healthcare/386667-saudi-arabia-bans-transport-of-
live-poultry
Avian influenza affected areas (Table 1) and global statistics of avian influenza A(H5N1)
(Table 2). (2019). [Ebook] (p. 2). Retrieved from
https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/global_statistics_avian_influenza_e.pdf
H5N1 avian influenza: Timeline of major events. (2019).
Ly, S., Horwood, P., Chan, M., Rith, S., Sorn, S., Oeung, K., ... & Chan, S. (2017).
Seroprevalence and Transmission of Human Influenza A (H5N1) Virus before and after
Virus Reassortment, Cambodia, 2006–2014. Emerging infectious diseases, 23(2), 300.
who.int. (2019). Avian and other zoonotic influenza. World Health Organization.