VIETNAM - AUGUST 4 AVIAN INFLUENZA REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 001989

SIPDIS

STATE FOR G, CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, EAP/EX, EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, INR, OES/STC
(PBATES),OES/IHA (DSINGER AND NCOMELLA),AND MED
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE AND GH (DCARROLL, ACLEMENTS AND
CJENNINGS)
STATE PASS TO USTR (EBRYAN)
STATE PASS TO HHS/OGHA (WSTIEGER, EELVANDER AND ABHAT)
USDA PASS TO APHIS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (LSTERN)
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID (JMACARTHUR AND MBRADY)
ROME FOR FAO

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KFLU AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR SOCI VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM - AUGUST 4 AVIAN INFLUENZA REPORT


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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

REF: HANOI 1629 AND PREVIOUS


1. (U) Summary. There have been no new AI outbreaks in humans or
poultry, however, Thanh Nhien Daily reported on August 3 that a
large number of ducks in two flocks have perished in Tay Ninh, a
province bordering Cambodia, and tests are being carried out to
identify the cause. A Bloomberg News report dated August 3
indicated that test results are also pending on a sick man who
apparently handled duck carcasses in Kien Giang Province in the
Mekong Delta. On July 20, the Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) and Minister of Health signed an Agreement
on Health and Medical Sciences Cooperation in Washington, DC. On
July 28, the World Bank hosted an AI donor coordination meeting in
Hanoi; the meeting echoed lackluster support in recent months from
the international donor community to fund the Government of
Vietnam's (GVN) "Green Book." The GVN has lifted the ban on chicken
rearing but has renewed the ban on duck rearing until February 2007.
Smuggling of live poultry across the border of China continues
despite efforts by Vietnamese authorities to crack down on this
illegal trade. The Vice Minister Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD) Bui Ba Bong pressed local authorities in the Mekong Delta to
finish the second national vaccination campaign before October, 2006
and reiterated to local authorities the importance of reporting AI
outbreaks in a timely manner. The GVN plans to submit an
application for the HHS Request for Application (RFA) to develop
capacity for rapid detection of, response to and containment of
influenza with pandemic potential. The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID),U.N. Food and Agricultural
Program (FAO) and MARD held several working-level meetings to better
coordinate support for technical training and activities focusing on
behavioral change and communications. The FAO purchased two BioRad
Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machines
for MARD's Department of Animal Health (DAH) laboratories; the
machines replace the Smartcycle machines loaned by the Department of
Agriculture (USDA). End Summary.


2. (U) As of August 3, 2006:

-- No human AI deaths since October 29, 2005
-- No human AI cases since November 14, 2005
-- No AI outbreaks in poultry since the last reported incident on
December 17, 2005 in Cao Bang Province

However, Thanh Nhien Daily reported on August 3 that "a large number
of ducks in two flocks have perished in Tay Ninh, a Mekong Delta
province, and tests have been carried out to find out the cause."


3. (SBU) Bloomberg News has picked up a Toui Tre Newpaper report
dated August 3 indicating that a 35-year old man was hospitalized in
Kien Giang province with bird flu symptoms. He was hospitalized in
Kien Giang on July 30th (and if standard protocols are followed, a
sample would arrive for testing at the Pasteur Institute within 24
hours with a diagnosis a few days after that). An X-ray of his
lungs showed extensive scarring. Family members reported that prior
to becoming sick, the individual handled duck carcasses. The
Pasteur Institute in HCMC may have results completed by end of the
day on August 4. The Mission is following this case and will report
any significant developments.


4. (SBU) On 20 July, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt and Minister of

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Health Madame Tran Thi Trung Chien signed an Agreement on Health and
Medical Sciences Cooperation in Washington, DC. Article III of the
Agreement addresses cooperation in the development of a "Rapid
Response Protocol" to ensure an effective bilateral or multilateral
response to contain and extinguish an outbreak of AI with pandemic
potential. During the U.S. visit, Minister Chien and her 15-member
delegation visited the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, the
National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, the Food and Drug
Administration in Rockville, Maryland, STATE, USAID, the Office of
Global AIDS Coordination and HHS.


5. (SBU) On July 28, the World Bank hosted an AI donor coordination
meeting in Hanoi that mustered only limited attendance from the
international donor community. Mr. Laurent Msellati, Rural Sector
Coordinator at the World Bank, chaired a discussion with fewer than
ten representatives from the World Bank, World Health Organization
(WHO),U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),U.N.
Development Program (UNDP),New Zealand AID, and USAID. Mr.
Msellati noted that the GVN has been pressing the World Bank for a
donor matrix indicating both pledges and actual levels of donor
support for AI. He also commented that recent AI outbreaks in
neighboring Laos and Thailand have prompted a bit of unease within
the GVN, which believes a November outbreak is imminent.


6. (SBU) A WHO representative commented that there appears to be no
evidence the GVN is using the Green Book (i.e., the Vietnam
Integrated Operational Program for Avian and Human Influenza for the
period 2006-2010). He stressed the need for the promulgation of a
high-level GVN directive to ensure that the GVN is using the Green
Book, which was developed by a team of over thirty international
experts, as a roadmap for investment planning for avian and human
influenza. The World Bank representative indicated that they may be
able to reprogram some unused funds into an integrated
health/agriculture program, working in the program's ten provinces
and possibly expanding to new ones. Meanwhile, the FAO
representative mentioned there was need to look at long-term loans
for poultry sector restructuring as donor interest to support the
development of industrial poultry farms has not been strong. (NOTE:
As limited international donor support for AI shifts towards
countries and regions experiencing new and recurring outbreaks, the
GVN will need to give priority to putting the Green Book into action
over other development assistance programs if they are to maintain
vigilance in combating AI, for example, supporting the semiannual
national poultry vaccination campaigns. END NOTE)


7. (U) Contrary to earlier reporting (reftel),the GVN has lifted
the ban on chicken rearing but not on raising ducks. The Director
of MARD's Department of Animal Breeding, Mr. Nguyen Dang Vang, was
quoted in Toui Tre Newspaper on August 1 saying that duck farming
would remain suspended until February 2007 because of the continued
threat of bird flu.


8. (U) According to a Washington Post investigative report dated
July 30, smugglers working under the cover of darkness haul more
than 1,500 contraband chickens a day into Lang Son Province, one of
six Vietnamese provinces along the Chinese border, violating the
strict ban on illegally imported chickens. According to the report,
Vietnamese veterinary officials disclosed in April that they had
found AI in samples taken from smuggled chickens confiscated in Lang
Son during a border raid. Within days of that event, officials in
the remote neighboring province of Cao Bang reported the virus in
poultry samples taken from three farms on the Chinese border after

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dozens of potentially smuggled chickens started to die. (NOTE:
Despite these occurrences, which were reported in the local press
and reftels, the GVN continues to maintain an official stance that
no AI outbreaks have occurred in poultry since December. END NOTE)
Prices fluctuate, but on average, chicken that sells for 30 cents
per pound or less in China can fetch a dollar or more in Vietnam.
The syndicates running the smuggling rings pay local villagers about
30 cents a bird to haul the contraband along mountain trails that in
some cases snake for more than 10 miles, said Lang Son Province
Director of Inspections Mr. Nguyen Thang Loi.


9. (U) According to a Vietnamese state media report dated July 28,
Vice Minister of MARD Bui Ba Bong pressed local authorities in the
Mekong Delta to finish the second national vaccination campaign
before October, 2006 (NOTE: As previously reported (reftel),GVN
sources have described the national poultry vaccination campaign as
"seriously lagging behind schedule." END NOTE) The Vice Minister
was speaking at a workshop on poultry and waterfowl rearing in Tien
Giang Province. In light of recent AI outbreaks in neighboring Laos
and Thailand, Vice Minister Bong reiterated to local authorities the
importance of reporting AI outbreaks in a timely manner so that
higher authorities can quickly mobilize response efforts.


10. (SBU) On June 26, HCMC ConGen EconOff met with Mr. Pham Van
Minh, Director of Pha An Sinh Foodstuff Processing and Trading
Company (PAS Food),in HCMC. The HCMC facility is designed on a
variation of the French/Dutch model of slaughterhouses, which has a
capacity to process 500 chickens per hour, 5,000 per day, or 150,000
chickens per month. PAS Food's facility in Vung Tau, which is under
construction, will soon be able to slaughter 2,000 chickens per hour
or 600,000 per month. The company has a unique, vertically
integrated system that handles poultry production from breeding
farms to product distribution centers. (NOTE: Mr. Minh stated that
imported chicken from the U.S. can be competitively priced on local
markets, despite higher transportation costs and import duties. PAS
Food's has tested the market by selling a ton of imported chicken
from the U.S. at a profit. On August 2, Vietnam News reported that
chicken pieces imported from the U.S. now account for around 40
percent of the market in HCMC, Vietnam's largest city. END NOTE)
The HCMC Department of Animal Health (DAH) regulates health and
safety standards on slaughterhouse locations, carcass handling
procedures, water treatment facilities and freezing systems. Mr.
Minh claimed that DAH staff conduct daily rounds of inspection and
quality control.


11. (SBU) In discussions between Post's CDC AI Coordinator and
interlocutors at the Ministry of Health, the Vietnam Administration
of Preventive Medicine (VAPM) (the principal arm of the MOH
responsible for routine surveillance, response and implementation of
public health programs at district and provincial levels) is taking
the lead in responding to Request for Application CDC-RFA-CI06-607,
which seeks a five-year cooperative agreement to develop the
capacity for rapid detection of, response, and containment of
influenza with pandemic potential. In addition to VAPM, partnering
institutions within MOH include the National Institute of Health and
Epidemiology, Department of Curative Medicine, and the Department of
Information, Education and Communication. Minister Chien has
engaged her staff to respond to the Request for Applications (RFA),
which can fund activities of USD 1.15 million in the first year, and
discussed the proposal during her visit to CDC offices on 17-18
July.


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12. (SBU) In a series of meetings facilitated by USAID in June and
July, Behavior Change and Communication (BCC) partner Academy for
Educational Development (AED) met with several U.N. agencies in a
push to ensure AED's BCC messaging is in sync with that of the
larger donors. AED met with UNICEF and UNDP and was promised
"honorary membership" to the U.N. BCC working group, currently only
open to U.N. partners, but which plans to open up to the wider NGO
community in the fall.


13. (SBU) USAID, FAO and MARD Department of International
Cooperation staff also met in July at the Department of Animal
Health to review their requests for additional U.S.-based AI-related
training. FAO determined that subjects such as pandemic
surveillance were already covered by their planned training and that
USDA would support epidemiology training. USAID will therefore look
at the feasibility of the remainder of the DAH requests.


14. (U) The FAO, which receives support from USAID, purchased two
BioRad Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
machines for DAH laboratories. RT-PCR is a technique for
identifying influenza subtypes, of which H5N1 is one of many. These
machines will strengthen AI surveillance and control by allowing DAH
laboratories to more rapidly and accurately determine if (and what
subtype of) AI viruses are present in samples. These machines
replace the Smartcycle machines loaned by USDA.


15. (U) As reported in local press, CARE International in Vietnam
is implementing a USD 8,000 project to raise people's awareness of
bird flu control in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang. Under
the project ending September 2006, CARE is conducting training
courses on bird flu control for medical workers, members of the
Farmers' Association and teachers in 16 communes in Cho Moi, Chau
Phu, An Phu and Tan Chau Districts. CARE International also
financed a project in An Giang Province, which provided almost
56,000 breeding chickens for 60 farming families in Tinh Bien, Cho
Moi and An Phu districts. (NOTE: With eight million of Vietnam's 11
million households engaged in backyard poultry production prior to
2003, poor households have been more severely affected by AI
outbreaks and mass cullings as they are more dependent on poultry
and eggs for both income and food. END NOTE)

Marine