BURMA AI UPDATE: QUASHING OUTBREAK RUMORS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001257

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EAGR PGOV PHUM SOCI TBIO BM
SUBJECT: BURMA AI UPDATE: QUASHING OUTBREAK RUMORS

REF: A. RANGOON 1219


B. RANGOON 1238


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Rumors of avian influenza (AI) outbreaks
are making the rounds in Burma. A reported suspicious
outbreak in Tachileik, eastern Shan State appears to be
unsubstantiated. FAO says it heard that the GOB sent a team
to investigate a reported outbreak in northern Shan State,
but knows nothing more. The Minister of Health revealed that
it recently investigated a disease outbreak in Mon State and
concluded it was malaria and Type A influenza, not AI. END
SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Rumors made the rounds in Rangoon this week about
suspected AI outbreaks in Burma. One rumor held that two
women in the border town Tachileik of eastern Shan State,
near Thailand, were ill with an unknown fever. Embassy
contacts in Tachileik said they have not heard of any such
outbreak. CG Chiang Mai said their contacts in Chiang Rai
Province, which Tachileik borders, had no information on any
AI outbreaks in Tachileik or adjoining areas of Thailand. An
FAO officer verified that the FAO knew nothing about an
outbreak in Tachileik, but added that they had heard that the
GOB sent a team to northern Shan State to investigate reports
of a possible outbreak in either Muse or Namkhan, two towns
that border China. The FAO has not received of any results
yet from that investigation.


3. (SBU) In a meeting at City Hall on November 2 (ref B),the
Rangoon mayor told the Charge that the GOB is following AI
developments in the region. He acknowledged that there have
been confirmed cases in neighboring countries and that AI
posed a potential threat to Burma. He insisted, however,
there have been no AI cases in Burma to date. The Charge
said that international experts might be of help if they
could visit Rangoon to share information on AI threats. The
mayor said this would be a good idea and he added that Burma
lacks sufficient resources of its own and needs international
assistance.


4. (SBU) In a November 3 briefing to representatives of
foreign missions and UN agency heads on the activities and
plans of the Ministry of Health (MOH),the Minister of
Health, Dr. Kyaw Myint, said that the GOB wanted to be
totally transparent about AI. He cited a suspicious disease
outbreak that occurred in Kyaikto, Mon State, "about ten days
ago." A cluster of ten children, and groups of chickens and
pigs fell ill there with fever. Two children died.
Subsequent investigation revealed that both of them had
malaria (P. falciparum),so the MOH concluded that cerebral
malaria was the likely cause of death. The MOH also
determined that the other children affected had Type A
influenza. The MOH cooperated closely with WHO, which sent
blood samples from the children to Bangkok for further
testing within 24 hours. The MOH reported that the Livestock
Breeding and Veterinary Department took blood samples from
the diseased chickens and pigs, but the MOH has no
information on the results of those tests to date.


5. (SBU) At the MOH briefing one Director General from the
ministry noted that Burma has no stockpile of Tamiflu. He
said even if Burma could obtain Tamiflu, the country could
ill-afford to pay the high cost of the medicine. He wondered
aloud how the MOH could possibly protect its medical
personnel who would be called on to treat patients in the
event of an AI outbreak among humans in Burma.


6. (SBU) COMMENT: Although Burma claims it is still AI-free,
the authorities are becoming more nervous over the likelihood
of AI eventually being discovered in Burma and the dire
consequences they would face in the event of a pandemic. The
recent closer cooperation between the GOB and WHO in
collecting and testing samples is a new and positive sign.
While the MOH may be endeavoring to be as forthcoming as
possible on AI issues, we are not sure the rest of the
government will embrace the same standard of openness. END
COMMENT.
VILLAROSA