VIETNAM: AVIAN INFLUENZA WEEKLY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 003009

SIPDIS

STATE FOR G; CA/OCS/ACS/EAP; EAP/EX; EAP/BCLTV; EAP/EP; INR;
OES/STC (PBATES); OES/IHA (DSINGER AND NCOMELLA)
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID/RDM/A (MFRIEDMAN)
USDA FOR FAS/PASS TO APHIS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (LSTERN)
USAID FOR ANE AND GH (DCAROLL, SCLEMENTS AND PCHAPLIN)
STATE PASS USTR (ELENA BRYAN)
STATE ALSO PASS HHS/OGHA (EELVANDER)
ROME FOR FAO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR SOCI PGOV TBIO VM AFLU
SUBJECT: VIETNAM: AVIAN INFLUENZA WEEKLY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER
10, 2005

REF: A) Hanoi 2293; B) Hanoi 3000; C) Hanoi 2991


1. (U) Summary. There has been one new confirmed AI human
fatality in Vietnam since Hanoi's last reporting on November

3. This death on October 29 is Vietnam's 42nd from AI. The
first phase of the nationwide poultry vaccination campaign
has been completed in 50 of 64 provinces in Vietnam, but it
is likely that vaccination programs could continue until

2008. The Government of Vietnam has also temporarily banned
all imports of live poultry and birds and their unprocessed
(uncooked) products. Recent AI outbreaks among poultry in
Bac Giang Province and the first human death in three months
may signal the beginning of this winter's AI season. End
Summary.

ONE NEW HUMAN AI FATALITY
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2. (U) Vietnam confirmed its 42nd human death from
AI on November 8, its first in three months. The 35 year-
old man died on October 29, 2005 after being admitted to a
Hanoi hospital four days after his family bought a prepared
chicken from a market near his house in the Dong Da District
of Hanoi. There is still no clear indication, however,
whether he died from eating infected chicken or was exposed
to infected poultry. Members of his family did not show any
AI symptoms.

PREVIOUS AI SUSPECT CASES
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3. (U) Post followed up with the World Health Organization-
Vietnam (WHO) on three reported hospitalized cases of severe
respiratory illnesses in Quanh Binh Province that occurred
at the end of October 2005. None of the cases were related
nor lived in the same location. A 14 year old girl and 26
year old man were admitted to the hospital with acute
respiratory infections but initially were not suspected as
AI (reftel A). Both individuals died but no samples for
laboratory diagnosis were obtained from either of these
cases.


4. (U) A third suspected case of AI was admitted to Hue
University Hospital and survived. Samples from the 27 year
old man were taken for analysis, but results are still
pending. All three cases are still under investigation by
the Ministry of Health (MOH) and WHO. The WHO asked MOH's
Department of Preventive Medicine to check close contacts of
all three cases and as of November 9, none of the contacts
have become symptomatic.


5. (U) Pasteur Institute's Department of Microbiology and
Immunology Director and Head of the Laboratory of Enteric
and Respiratory Viruses Dr. Phan Van Tu informed the Consul
General (CG) in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) on November 4 that
if the suspected AI cases in northern Vietnam were
confirmed, such confirmation would imply that the AI season
is beginning a month earlier than last year. Dr. Tu is the
official responsible in southern Vietnam for testing
suspected samples for avian flu in humans. However, others
note that there were suspected occurring as early as
September 2003. At that time, the relationship of the
disease to poultry was not well-recognized. In addition, we
note that isolated AI cases have also occurred sporadically
across Vietnam this summer as well.

TAMIFLU FOR VIETNAM?
--------------


6. (SBU) The press has reported in the last two weeks that
the Government of Vietnam (GVN) has been negotiating with
Roche to produce Tamiflu. According to a November 8 Tuoi
Tre Daily article, Roche "officially agreed to grant a sub-
license of manufacturing the antiviral drug to Vietnam's
Public Health Ministry" and the firm also pledged that
production in Vietnam would begin in two months. Post has
not been able to verify this information with MOH.


7. (SBU) On November 8, Minister of Health Tran Thi Chung
Chien told the Ambassador that there is no firm agreement
with Roche. She asked for U.S. assistance in persuading
Roche to give Vietnam a license to produce Tamiflu, noting
that Vietnam was prepared to resort to compulsory licensing
unless Roche agreed. The Minister also asked for U.S. help
in finding a company to work with Vietnam to produce a human
vaccine against AI and promised that Vietnam's National
Preparedness Plan would be published within a week (reftel
B).

VIETNAM STEPS UP GOVERNMENT EFFORTS
--------------


8. (U) According to news reports on October 9, the MOH has
introduced numbe of drstic measures to contain an AI
outbreak. MOH has ordered hospitals to begin preparing for
the possibility of admitting AI victims and to set up
temporary hospitals, if needed. The MOH will also work with
the military and police forces to contain an AI outbreak and
Vietnam News reported that "local government agencies have
intensified quarantine activities at border gates and border
districts, and have plans to isolate, monitor and provide
timely medical treatment to people suspected of having
contracted the H5N1 virus."

VIETNAM BANS POULTRY PRODUCTS
--------------


9. (U) The Prime Minister signed a resolution November 4 for
the control of AI that among other measures puts a temporary
ban on all imports of live poultry and birds and their
unprocessed (uncooked) products (reftel C). The Embassy was
told the resolution is effective immediately although it has
still not been published in the media. Although labeled
temporary, no end-date was given for the ban. There is no
scientific basis for a ban of this sort from all countries
whether they have AI or not. A letter from Ambassador
Marine to Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development
Minister Cao Duc Phat in anticipation of the ban noted this
and expressed the Embassy's concern.

10. (U) USDA/APHIS veterinarian Dr. Cheryl Hall arrived in
Vietnam this week for a two-month TDY. She is working
directly with the Department of Animal Health on evaluating
Vietnam's vaccination program and establishing a post-
vaccination surveillance program. Dr. Hall's visit should
improve communication channels and direct cooperation on AI.


11. (U) The first phase of the nationwide poultry
vaccination campaign targeting high risk bird populations
has been completed in 50 of 64 provinces in Vietnam but it
now appears that the vaccination program could continue
until 2008. The goal is to build up the program until it
reaches a point where enough of the poultry population is
continuously vaccinated that the virus can no longer sustain
itself. At that point, the program could be ended if
effective measures to prevent reintroduction from wild birds
were in place.


12. (U) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD) confirmed that AI cases in poultry have been detected
in six provinces, including Hanoi, Bac Giang, Thanh Hoa,
Quang Nam, Dong Thap and Bac Lieu. Press reports note that
between October 25-30, 3,000 ducks died in Bac Giang
Province due to AI. On November 10, there were reports of
an AI poultry outbreak in Hai Duong Province, but we have
not been able to confirm this report with MARD.


13. (U) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Program
Officer Fabio Friscia told the HCMC CG that he felt that the
current outbreak coincided "more or less" with the timing of
last year's AI outbreak in poultry. (Note: FAS and FAO
comments about AI outbreaks in poultry, along with
confirmation of the AI death of the individual in northern
Vietnam and the Pasteur Institutes comments, implies that we
may be able to consider -- if not now, then soon -- that
this winter's AI season in Vietnam has already begun for
poultry (and possibly for humans.) End Note).

OTHER NEWS
--------------


14. (U) European Commissioner for Health and Consumer
Protection Markos Kyprianou was in Vietnam for a three day
visit this week and announced that the EU was planning to
grant 30 million euros to avian flu-affected countries in
Asia, including Vietnam as one of the major recipients. The
fund would be used for long-term AI plans.

EMBASSY AI PREPARDNESS
--------------


15. (SBU) Post requested and received approval for a
$250,000 increase to Post's Class B Cashier's advance to be
used during a major/significant AI pandemic crisis. The
U.S. Consulate General in HCMC is in the process of
determining how much of an increase to their Cashier's
advance they would need in a worst-case AI pandemic crisis.

WHAT, NO CHICKEN ON THE MENU?
--------------


16. (U) An informal telephone survey of ten Hanoi
restaurants has revealed that chicken is no longer available
on most restaurant menus. Six out of ten restaurants
contacted on November 9 said that chicken was not available
due to the "chicken flu" or because it was no longer
available in the market. One restaurant said that duck was
available and assured us that it was from France. We will
do a survey next week on whether omelets and fried eggs are
still available for breakfast in Hanoi restaurants.

MARINE