Local Company Gives Global Effort in Defense Against Bird Flu

Gallaway Safety & Supply is a local distributor of safety and industrial supplies, located in Eighty Four, PA. Their web site, located at www.gallawaysafety.com, fuels the majority of their business. Recently, the small company received an international order, totaling approximately $50,000 in personal protective equipment.

The order received was from American national Matthew Westfall, member of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Country Director to the Azerbaijan Resident Mission. Azerbaijan – a small country in Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia – is currently experiencing first-hand the threat of the Avian Bird Flu.

On January 27, the ADB and the Azerbaijan Government signed a grant agreement in the amount of $50,000 to support urgent efforts to address the threat of Avian Influenza, including equipment and supplies for detection, testing, and decontamination operations. The grant will provide immediate assistance in the purchasing of urgent items to protect and support workers involved in prevention and control activities, such as gloves, safety suits, respirators, and other equipment. Provided as direct support to the Government's action plan and strategy to combat Avian Bird Flu and lower the probability of a H5N1-related pandemic, the grant is the first level of emergency assistance, to be followed with additional grant funding as necessary for longer-term support. Mr. Westfall was put in charge of the operations to be carried out in Azerbaijan, and chose the local supplier to do business with.

The massive order of approximately 6,400 respirator masks, 3,000 pairs of sanitary gloves, 300 coverall suits, and 500 pairs of goggles will be used to aid the troop of workers to battle and contain the threatening virus in Azerbaijan.

Bird flu (also known as avian flu or avian influenza), which has now spread from Asia to the European Union, continues to pose a significant threat to human health and economic activity in the region and beyond. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been 173 laboratory-confirmed avian influenza cases – 93 of which have resulted in death. Niger became the 16th country to confirm an avian-flu outbreak last month, doubling the number of nations reporting infections since 2003.

The global strategy to control avian influenza and prevent a human influenza pandemic starts with controlling the infection at the source and effectively containing avian flu outbreaks. An avian influenza epidemic, if it were to occur, would cause significant economic damage to small-scale poultry farmers and threaten the livelihood of many poor and near-poor households.

Expressively written for:

http://observer-reporter.com/

by Carissa M. Parsons