UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000822

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/NCE
DEPT FOR OES/DANIEL SINGER AND REBECCA DALEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO SENV ECON EAGR EAID PREL SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA ON CONTROLLING AVIAN FLU: PART TWO

REF: A. LJUBLJANA 0807

B. STATE 209622


1. (U) Summary: On 28 November, Econoff and Econ Assistant
met with Dr. Marija Seljak, Director General of the Public
Health Directorate at the Slovene Ministry of Health, to
discuss Slovenia's preparedness for a potential influenza
pandemic. Following is a summary of measures the Health
Ministry has undertaken to ready Slovenia for a potential
health crisis. End Summary.

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PREPAREDNESS/COMMUNICATION
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2. (U) As reported ref A, Slovenia's Veterinary
Administration has the lead within the GOS for avian flu
matters. Seljak said the Health Ministry cooperates very
closely with the Veterinary Administration. She said,
however, that the Health Ministry is currently focused on
preparing for a potential pandemic of influenza. Noting that
it is "very difficult" for humans to contract the H5N1 virus,
Seljak said that most of her agency's time is spent on
addressing concerns associated with a possible mutation of
the virus into a form easily transmitted to and among people.



3. (U) Referring to a simulation performed last week in
cooperation with the EU, Seljak termed Slovenia to be
well-prepared to handle a potential pandemic. She said the
simulation helped the Ministry identify possible holes in the
Health Ministry's preparedness plan and that the Ministry was
working to address this (the plan is available at
http://www2.gov.si/mz/mz-sple.nsf, click on "nacrt
pripravljanosti na pandemijo pticje gripe-verzija 2.0".
Slovene only.). Seljak noted that her only concern in the
"most pessimistic scenario" would be a undercapacity in
hospital space as well as insufficient medical practitioners.
She said, however, that this situation was no different from
other Western European nations.


4. (U) Seljak said that Slovenia administers annual flu shots
and the typical demand is for approximately 150-180 thousand
doses. (Note: Slovenia's population is slightly less than
two million. End note.) Given the increased concern about
avian flu, however, Seljak expects that this year Slovenia
will administer approximately 300 thousand shots. She
further said that Slovenia does not produce human influenza
vaccines.


5. (U) One of the areas for improvement in Slovenia's
preparedness is improving the general public's understanding
of avian flu, according to Seljak. She said the public is
confused by the different types of flu: avian flu that is
widely reported in the media, the flu strains that are
typical in the winter, and the potential for a pandemic
influenza. Seljak said the Ministry is currently working on
a new communication strategy that will help the public
understand the differences and risks associated with the
different types of flu. She said the Ministry has published
a list of influenza-related frequently asked questions and
that these were reprinted in the most widely-read newspapers
and magazines. Seljak also said the Ministry was evaluating
the potential benefit of printing informational flyers and
brochures for distribution to households throughout the
country.

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SURVEILLANCE/DETECTION
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6. (U) In addition to the subtyping capabilities of the
Veterinary Administration (ref A), Seljak noted that the
Slovene National Institute of Public Health was well-equipped
and very capable of diagnosing and subtyping new strains of
influenza. She said that the Institute enjoys "stable
financing" and was staffed with well-educated scientists. In
addition, Seljak said that Ministry of Health identifies 3-5
medical practitioners in each region of Slovenia who submit
throat swabs to the Institute when a patient complains of
flu-like symptoms. As required, Seljak said samples from
Slovenia are sent to a reference lab in the U.K. for
additional testing.

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RESPONSE/CONTAINMENT
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7. (U) As noted ref A, Slovenia will begin stockpiling doses
of Tamiflu in 2006. Seljak said the Ministry expected the
first shipment to take place in March, to be followed by a
second shipment in calendar Q4. Seljak also said that

Slovenia does have some protective gear available for use by
the general public, but that most of the gear is at hospitals
and is intended for the use of healthcare workers. In
addition, Seljak said while the GOS "might" be willing to
enforce quarantines for the "first patients" of a pandemic,
she did not see the need for a general quarantine. She said
that even with a quarantine, it is likely that any pandemic
will still spread.
ROBERTSON


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