The deadly companions

THE_international trade in exotic animals must be stopped in order to protect humans from global pandemics, a leading microbiologist has warned.

Scores of crocodiles, monkeys, rare mammals, birds and reptiles are brought into Bahrain and sold in pet shops, farms and market stalls every year ... and could harbour potentially lethal microbes.

Dorothy Crawford, Professor of Medical Microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, has cautioned that the risk to people of animal borne microbes - known as zoonoses - has never been greater.

Bahrain is not a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which aims to regulate the trade in exotic species and stem the threat of pandemics.

While there is no international law against importing creatures that are not certified into Bahrain, officials say there is confusion over regulations and that laws desperately need to be toughened up.

Every Friday, monkeys, birds, parrots and other animals are sold at Isa Town market. Recently Gulfweekly was offered a crocodile from a pet store in Budaiya for just BD20.

The Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA)_has rescued scores of exotic species including monkeys, turtles and birds.

"We had a baboon which we had to take care of for two years before we could ship it to a sanctuary in England," said Melinda Salamah, who managed the BSPCA until earlier this year.

One farm located near a school currently houses two African lynxes held in a cage in a Shetland pony enclosure. The same farm also keeps racoons, mongooses, hedgehogs, foxes, crocodiles, snakes, reptiles, dogs, cats, flamingos, other exotic birds and monkeys in close proximity to each other.

"Remembering that SARS came from farmed civet cats, HIV from apes, West Nile fever from birds via mosquitoes, plague from rats via fleas, almost any of these animals could carry potentially lethal infectious agents," warned Prof Crawford.

She highlighted a number of lethal microbes that animals sold in Bahrain could carry.

Exotic birds can carry avian tuberculosis, avian flu and psittacosis - all of which directly infect humans she said.

Local vet Dr Nonie Coutts has seen two cases of psittacosis or 'parrot fever' - an unpleasant disease which involves pneumonia and symptoms similar to typhoid - in people who were directly infected by African Grey parrots bought in Bahrain.

Last week a plan to illegally export 500 African Grey parrots from Cameroon to Bahrain was foiled.

Macaque monkeys, one of which Dr Coutts treated and which are displayed at Isa Town market, are also carriers of the Herpes B virus which can be transferred to humans.

"It is a very dangerous zoonosis, mostly transmitted via bites, but it can also be transmitted through a sneeze," explained Dr Coutts.

Once in humans the disease causes flu-like symptoms, progressing to ascending paralysis and severe and often fatal encephalomyelitis, a disease of the brain and spinal cord.

She also said that macaques can carry Simian T cell leukaemia virus which was the probable cause of the human T-cell leukaemia virus which leads to leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Prof Crawford also warned that monkeys are known to transmit Marburg virus to humans, a deadly hemorrhagic fever.

Crocodiles, many of which are sold in both farms and pet shops in the kingdom, are known to carry Trichinella which can affect humans, said Prof Crawford.

Crocodiles were not previously known to host the larvae but in 1995 a new species was found in crocodiles in Africa.

In that year 40 per cent of farm-raised crocodiles in Zimbabwe were found to have the disease which could mutate and transfer to mammals.

Most of the crocodiles brought into Bahrain are reportedly farmed in Thailand which also reports high levels of Trichinella. The disease causes nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting and in severe cases, death.

In her new book Deadly Companions published two months ago, Prof Crawford highlights the instance of crocodiles farmed in Papua New Guinea to provide luxury items for the West which were infected with a virus from pig meat which then crossed to its keeper.

However, she emphasised that what are equally important are the unknown vectors of disease and the microbes "we don't know about."

"As far as I know no one has any idea about the microbes carried by animals such as racoons, mongooses and reptiles," she explained. "When animals are kept in mixed company microbes can pass between the different species and then may become accessible to humans.

"For example, the monkey pox outbreak in the US in 2003 was initiated by a virus imported in a giant Gambian rat from Ghana. This infected prairie dogs kept in the same pet shop and it was these animals that then got sick so amplifying the virus and they infected their owners."

More than 70 people were infected by the microbe before the chain was terminated.

Prof Crawford warned that microbes will always be one step ahead.

"Their generation time is 24 hours, ours is 30 years. They mutate, they change, they will find a way. They are amazing opportunists," she said.

"The way to prevent zoonoses is to abolish the exotic pet trade, to keep domestic animals under more natural and humane conditions, to avoid close contact with wild animals, and to carry out surveillance for infections like H5N1 flu in wild birds which we know is a threat to humans."

The lack of regulation in the trade is exacerbating the problem. The exotic animal trade in Bahrain has been growing in recent years according to Dr Coutts.

She said: "The exotic animal trade here only started in the last eight to 10 years. Some people buy the animals simply because they want to save them. They pay ridiculous prices for them because they feel sorry for them. It is heartbreaking to see the conditions these creatures are kept in by people who don't know how to care for them."

While exotic animals are openly traded here, there is confusion over what rules are in place.

Customs advisor Clay Kerswell said that all animals imported to Bahrain receive approval from the animal quarantine department who issue entry documentation.

But he believes that many exotic species may enter the country illegally. "A lot of animals are coming in illegally, some across the border, some through dhow traffic and some with passengers at airports," he said, adding that much stricter regulations should be in place.

"It amazes me the lack of control on poultry and wild birds. I am concerned about the potential for viruses to be imported," he explained.

Sources policing the exotic animal trade say that the multi-billion dollar business of buying and selling protected animals is one of the largest sources of criminal earnings.

The trade is behind only arms smuggling and drug trafficking which often follow the same trade routes.

The Middle East is an established trafficking route for animals smuggled from South East Asia and Africa. According to the WWF several species of endangered animals have been found in Middle Eastern markets including cheetahs, gazelles and bustards.

"I am not sure how these animals enter the country," said Dr Mohamed Aladin Ashour, head of the veterinary section for Bahrain's Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife.

"We do not have enough regulations. The matter should be studied and clear rules laid down. If we find someone in the airport with an exotic animal what should we do, kill it or let someone take care of it? Regulations must be put in place for public health interests. Wild animals can carry diseases that lead to epidemics."

Wildlife entering the country legally is dealt with by the Commission for Protection of Marine Resources at Al Areen.

The director of protected areas, Dr Adel Awadi said that they never issue certifications to animals such as crocodiles and large cats, which he says are illegal to sell and own, citing a 'wildlife protection law'.

"We don't issue licenses for wild animals. These things are illegal, and they are brought in illegally," he said.

He also explained that he sent staff to Isa Town market, pet shops and farms to monitor and try to stop the trade and that cases are then referred to the police.

Officials at the Municipalities and Agriculture Ministry said that importing and exotic animals was forbidden by veterinary quarantine laws.

They also said that official figures detailing the quantities of exotic animals brought to Bahrain are not available.

However, other officials believe that laws against importing exotic species are ambiguous and outdated and need to be brought up-to-speed.

"The only species I am aware of currently being illegal here are species that were declared protected that are indigenous to Bahrain," said Dr Ashour.

Customs officials and those involved in the protection of wildlife agree that signing up to the CITES agreement may help. From the GCC countries, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are signatories.

Khalil Al Derazi, director of the Extensions and Agricultural Relations Directorate said: "I thought Bahrain was party to CITES. However, if we are not, we should become a member." In 2004, the interim environmental review of the US-Bahrain free Trade Agreement reported that: "Bahrain is not a party to CITES but has expressed interest in, and taken steps toward becoming a party."

According to the 2006-2008 Plan of Action Pursuant to the US-Bahrain Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Co-operation the US will "share its experience in implementing CITES and assist Bahrain with its efforts to develop and implement legislation to protect endangered species".

For those like Dr Coutts who deal first hand with the fall-out from lax restrictions, the implementation of rigorous laws is essential. She said: "We need to sign up to CITES and we need the laws here to have teeth."