VIETNAM: AVIAN INFLUENZA WEEKLY REPORT FOR DECEMBER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 003353

SIPDIS

FOR USAID/RDM-A/BANGKOK PRIORITY
STATE FOR G; CA/OCS/ACS/EAP; EAP/EX; EAP/MLS; EAP/EP; INR;
OES/STC (PBATES); OES/IHA (DSINGER AND NCOMELLA)
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID/RDM/A (MFRIEDMAN AND JMACARTHUR)
USDA FOR FAS/PASS TO APHIS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (LSTERN)
USAID FOR ANE AND GH (DCARROLL, 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 DECEMBER
22, 2005

REF: Hanoi 3287


1. (U) Summary. There have been no new human Avian
Influenza (AI) deaths in Vietnam since October 29. The
number of animal AI affected provinces in Vietnam continues
to drop from a high of 21 in mid-November to 13 this week.
With AI "in check" in recent weeks and consumer confidence
rebounding slightly, the sale of poultry products and eggs
has increased and they are now available in many
supermarkets. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) hosted
an AI briefing for the diplomatic community on December 19
and Post has obtained an updated copy of the Ministry of
Health's (MOH) National Plan of Action on Human Influenza
Pandemic Prevention and Control. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service provided training to 20 Vietnamese laboratory
technicians in a new, more efficient technique for detecting
AI in poultry. The Government of Vietnam (GVN) also tested
its AI response system again, conducting its second major
bird flu exercise in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) on December 18
with over 1,000 participants from the government and health
sector. End Summary.

AI SNAPSHOT
--------------


2. (U) As of December 21, 2006:

--Number of New Human AI Cases in Vietnam since October 29:
Zero
--Current Number of Provinces still affected by AI in
poultry: 13
--Estimated number of poultry culled since October 1: 3.6
million

GVN GIVES CONCISE AI BRIEFING
--------------


3. (U) MOFA hosted an AI briefing for the diplomatic
community about the GVN's AI and pandemic preparedness
efforts on December 19. Representatives from Australia,
Canada, European Union, Germany, Norway, Algeria, United
States and the United Kingdom were present, among others.


4. (U) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)
Vice Minister Bui Ba Bong stressed that the GVN has
committed its leadership and political will to combat AI by
following international standards (e.g., WHO, FAO);
providing greater transparency in the detection process;
cooperating with regional and international actors; and
recognizing the importance of public information and
education campaigns. Vice Minister Bong listed eight
measures that the GVN is currently undertaking to control AI
in poultry, including: 1) surveillance and reporting; 2)
improving AI diagnostic capacity; 3) culling infected birds
and birds in high risk areas; 4) disinfecting infected
areas; 5) controlling poultry movement; 6) vaccinations; 7)
restructuring the poultry production process; and, 8)
restructuring the poultry slaughtering and marketing
systems.

5. (U) According to Vice Minister Bong, the GVN is
encouraged by the overall decline of AI poultry outbreaks
since their peak in mid-November. He explained that AI
poultry outbreaks have occurred earlier in this year's
winter season compared to two years ago, and added that this
year provinces in the North have borne the brunt of the
outbreaks. He explained that provinces in southern Vietnam
carried out their poultry vaccination programs and
implemented strict regulations earlier than their northern
neighbors because the South was heavily hit by AI poultry
outbreaks last year.


6. (U) MOH's National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology
(NIHE) Preventive Medicine Department officials Nguyen Van
Binh and Nguyen Tran Hien provided an update on MOH's AI
control activities. According to Binh, out of the 66 AI
cases in Vietnam, 97 percent contracted the disease by
either direct poultry contact or possibly by eating ill
poultry. Binh stressed that transmitting H5N1 AI from
poultry to human is "very difficult and many people in high
risk groups (breeders, slaughterers, veterinarians) do not
get the disease." The NIHE officials summarized the
preventive measures being undertaken by the GVN, including,
among others, stockpiling Tamiflu (NOTE: Binh confirmed that
the GVN has 400,000 doses. END NOTE) and strengthening
laboratory capacity and surveillance.

MOH PREPAREDNESS PLAN
--------------


7. (U) Post recently received an updated copy of MOH's
National Plan of Action on Human Influenza Pandemic
Prevention and Control in Vietnam dated November 2005. The
54-page document is a detailed plan of action for government
and health agencies in all levels (national, provincial and
local/commune) in case of an AI outbreak and pandemic. The
Plan has six parts: 1) Influenza Overview; 2) Assessment of
Influenza A (H5N1) Epidemic; 3) Objectives and Solutions by
Influenza Pandemic Phases; 4) Organization of Implementation
from central level to local level; 5) Estimated Budget, and;
6) Appendices, including diagrams on the Influenza
Surveillance System in Vietnam and Influenza A (H5N1)
Treatment Network. The Plan states that the "estimated
budget for health activities in case there is an outbreak of
human influenza pandemic is around 17,000 billion VND" or
USD 1.06 billion. It is anticipated that this version of
the National Plan will be combined with MARD's AI Plan and
combined plans will be presented at the Beijing Donor's
Meeting in mid-January. (NOTE: Post has emailed the
document to EAP/MLS. END NOTE)

EMBASSY'S WORK ON AI
--------------


8. (U) As part of a three-country mission, a delegation
sponsored by the CDC Influenza Branch visited Hanoi December
14-18 to discuss projects to be funded by the 2005 Tsunami
Supplemental appropriations. The team met with WHO, NIHE,
CARE International, World Bank Health Team and Embassy
officials. The team included a medical epidemiologist
selected by CDC who may be positioned in Vietnam to provide
technical assistance to Vietnam's national and regional (and
possibly provincial) laboratories on influenza issues.


9. (U) The Health Attache met with the Japan International
Cooperation Agency's (JICA) consultation team to discuss
their plans for a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) laboratory in
NIHE. The team explained that JICA's assistance will
include the design, construction and equipping the BSL3
laboratory. JICA's team will provide the technical
assistance component in the form of biosafety training,
assistance in writing national regulations for operating
biosafety level laboratories, training technicians to
diagnose and work with pathogenic microorganisms in a BSL3
laboratory. This project will begin in January 2006 when
the construction consultation team will be in Hanoi. The
JICA team also reported that Japan's Ministry of Science and
Education is supporting the placement of a researcher from
Nagasaki University to work on AI and flaviviruses.


10. (U) In January, 2006, the National Institute for Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, a part of the National Institute of
Health, will send to Hanoi two specialists in laboratory
design and construction to consult with NIHE. They will
provide assistance in designing the non-BSL3 component of
the research laboratory, which will also house NIHE's BSL3
lab.

USDA PROVIDES AI DIAGNOSIS TRAINING
--------------


11. (U) USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
provided training to 20 Vietnamese laboratory technicians in
a new, more efficient technique for detecting AI in poultry.
Two U.S. experts conducted the training on Real-Time PCR
diagnosis at the National Center for Veterinary Diagnosis in
Hanoi December 14-21. The course stressed hands-on training
using equipment and supplies brought from the United States.
The equipment was then donated to the Vietnamese Government.
This training and equipment combined with further equipment
donations expected in January from the World Bank and a
United Nation's special joint fund to fight AI will allow
Department of Animal Health to greatly increase the speed of
AI detection, greatly strengthening Vietnam's ability to
combat the disease. The total value of the U.S. training
and donated equipment is approximately USD 100,000.

HCMC'S SECOND AI EXERCISE
--------------


12. (U) Ho Chi Minh City held its second AI outbreak
exercise on December 18. The two-hour event involved
approximately 1,000 representatives of the Ministry of
Health, various HCMC provincial officials, health workers
and civilians. The simulated AI outbreak took place in
HCMC's Cu Chi District and according to press reports,
Minister of Health Tran Thi Trung Chien oversaw the exercise
to raise public awareness and to test the GVN's response to
an AI outbreak.

CHICKEN AND EGGS ARE BACK!
--------------


12. (U) Poultry products and eggs are making a comeback to
store shelves and consumers are eagerly buying them. With
the decrease in the number of provinces being affected by
AI, the poultry industry has been gearing up its sales
tactics in the last week and offering Vietnamese consumers
with "virus-free" poultry and eggs. During the December 18
MOFA AI briefing, the British Ambassador asked whether or
not eating chickens was safe and NIHE officials responded by
saying that poultry is indeed safe to eat if it is properly
slaughtered, cleaned and bought from a trusted source. MARD
is conducting inspections to make sure the conditions are
met. Interestingly, NIHE's Binh stressed that the MOH has
"never" said that it not safe to eat chicken if it is
properly prepared.

MARINE