VIETNAM - AVIAN FLU UPDATE #2

UNCLAS HANOI 000199 SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR CA/OCS/ACS/EAP; EAP/EX; EAP/BCLTV BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC STATE PASS HHS USDA FOR FAS/PASS TO APHIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMED AMGT CASC EAGR TBIO VM AFLU SUBJECT: VIETNAM - AVIAN FLU UPDATE #2 -------------- CURRENT STATUS -------------- ¶1. (U) According to WHO, there are currently 53 possible cases of avian influenza in humans in Vietnam; of these, eight have been confirmed (of which 7 have died),nine are possible cases, and 36 are under investigation. A total of 18 cases under investigation have resulted in death as of January 26. WHO is sending several more team members to Vietnam; they are due to arrive on January 28. New members of the WHO team in Vietnam now include a local Vietnamese epidemiologist who will serve as liaison with the GVN. -------------- ADDRESSING PAST CONCERNS -------------- ¶2. (U) CULLING - PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE): CONCERNS REMAIN ABOUT THE SLOWNESS OF THE GVN TO PROVIDE PPE TO THOSE INVOLVED IN CULLING AND DESTRUCTION OF AFFECTED POULTRY. FOR REASONS NOT YET KNOWN TO US, THE JAPANESE AMBASSADOR IN HANOI HAS RETRACTED AN OFFER TO PURCHASE A LARGE SUPPLY OF PPE MADE LAST WEEK BY JICA (THE JAPANESE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY). REGIONAL WHO DIRECTOR DR. OMI IS MEETING WITH THE JAPANESE AMBASSADOR ON JANUARY 27 TO TRY TO PERSUADE HIM OF THE URGENCY OF THE SITUATION. ¶3. (U) Culling - Adequacy: GVN Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) is now taking more aggressive steps to improve culling efforts in Vietnam. According to MOA, 15,000 Vietnamese workers are currently involved in culling activities in 28 Vietnamese provinces. ¶4. (U) Human-to-human transmission: Human-to-human transmission is now under "active investigation," according to the GVN's National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) and WHO, in the 53 cases currently under investigation, and laboratory research indicates high homology (similarity in structure and sequence) between human and avian viruses in Vietnam. Not all cases under investigation report clear or obvious exposure to poultry. ¶5. (U) Laboratory services: The WHO team continues to impress upon VN the importance of shipping specimens out to international labs for both vaccine development and testing. BURGHARDT