VIETNAM - OCTOBER 20 AVIAN INFLUENZA REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 002686 SIPDIS SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA TEXT) STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, INR, OES/STC, OES/IHA, MED STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE AND GH 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 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR SOCI SUBJECT: VIETNAM - OCTOBER 20 AVIAN INFLUENZA REPORT HANOI 00002686 001.2 OF 003 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED REF: HANOI 2512 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (SBU) Summary. There have been no reported human Avian Influenza (AI) cases and no confirmed AI outbreaks in poultry to date this year in Vietnam. With the winter season approaching, the Government of Vietnam (GVN) has announced the need to tighten AI controls. On October 19, the RAND Corporation conducted Vietnam's first national-level AI Pandemic Tabletop Exercise at the Ministry of Health (MOH). The MOH has established the National Influenza Surveillance System with support from HHS/CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO). The GVN and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) seeks to establish a formal international partnership for Avian and Human Influenza in Vietnam and has invited relevant donors to a signing ceremony tentatively scheduled November 1, 2006. The World Bank hosted an informal meeting of international partners to discuss the evaluation of a World Bank-supported, two-year Avian Influenza Emergency Recovery Project (AIEPR) and introduce a follow-up multi-year effort, the Vietnam Avian and Human Influenza Control and Preparedness Project (VAHIP). End Summary. ¶2. (U) There have been no reported Avian Influenza (AI) cases and no confirmed AI outbreaks in poultry to date this year in Vietnam. GVN Prepares for Winter Flu Season -------------- ¶3. (U) With the winter season approaching, the GVN has announced the need to tighten AI controls. At a recent meeting of the National Steering Committee for Bird Flu Control, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong urged Vietnamese officials to remain vigilant in the remaining months of 2006, noting that the cooler temperatures of winter are a factor in the spread of AI. Local authorities were reportedly urged to conduct the second vaccination campaign for this year, disinfect high-risk areas, and strictly control trading and transport of poultry and poultry products. Officials were also urged to closely monitor, detect and quickly curb outbreaks effectively. An anti-bird flu month was launched nationwide from October 15 to November 15 to raise awareness throughout the provinces. ¶4. (U) According to Thanh Nhien Daily, Director of MARD's Animal Breeding Department Nguyen Dang Vang said that seasonal poultry breeding was on the rise as farmers meet the demand of the upcoming wedding season and the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. According to the report, the increased demand for poultry coupled with the recent foot and mouth outbreaks in cattle have driven the price for chicken products upward. Mr. Vang also stated that the price of one kilogram of processed chicken cost between VND 60,000 to 70,000 in Hanoi. RAND Conducts National-level AI Pandemic Tabletop Exercise -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On October 19, the RAND Corporation, sponsored by the Department of Human Health and Services (HHS),Center for Disease Control (CDC),conducted Vietnam's first national-level AI Pandemic Tabletop Exercise at the Ministry of Health (MOH). Over 60 GVN HANOI 00002686 002.2 OF 003 participants and international observers (including HHS Health Attache and Embassy's MEDOff) participated in the tabletop exercise for senior-level officials from Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, Defense, Finance, Public Security, Transportation and other agencies. The exercise involved a human H5N1 pandemic scenario that began in neighboring Cambodia and involved millions of deaths as it spread throughout Vietnam. Logistical issues were discussed openly by the participants, including how to transport Tamiflu from storage caches to outbreak areas, the need to investigate domestic production of face masks, and the need for provincial governments to bear some of the costs of emergency response and treatment. (Comment: MEDOff's observation of the tabletop exercise was that it was very effective for those who participated and extremely relevant given the current AI situation in Vietnam. End comment.) Vietnam's Influenza Surveillance System Up and Running -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The MOH has established the National Influenza Surveillance System with support from HHS/CDC and the WHO. After nearly a year of technical assistance and discussions concerning sample transfer sensitivity issues, the MOH working with WHO/Vietnam successfully sent human influenza specimens that were collected over the past year by the surveillance program from Hanoi to one of the four WHO Global Collaborating Centers, CDC in Atlanta. In addition, the MOH has joined FluNet(http://gamapserver.who.int/ GlobalAtlas/home.asp). FluNet was developed in collaboration with the Institute for Medical Research and Health, Paris, France. The WHO links national influenza centers and collaborating centers for global influenza surveillance through FluNet. World Bank AI Emergency Recovery Project -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The GVN and UNDP seeks to establish a formal international partnership for Avian and Human Influenza in Vietnam. The UNDP has drafted a "Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and International Partners Concerning the Establishment of the Vietnam Partnership for Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza (PAHI)," which appears to be a non-binding partnership agreement, and has invited relevant donors to a signing ceremony tentatively scheduled November 1, 2006. Legal experts from the Department, USAID and HHS are currently reviewing the draft MOU and will pass any comments via the Embassy to UNDP. World Bank AI Emergency Recovery Project -------------- ¶8. (SBU) On October 13, 2006, the World Bank hosted an informal meeting of international partners to discuss the evaluation of a World Bank-supported, two-year Avian Influenza Emergency Recovery Project (AIEPR) and introduce a follow-up multi-year effort, the Vietnam Avian and Human Influenza Control and Preparedness Project (VAHIP). ¶9. (SBU) AIERP focused on several components: strengthening disease diagnosis and surveillance capacity (provision of training and equipment),poultry sub-sector rehabilitation (small holder restocking and policy),and public awareness. All components were guided by concurrent studies. Data-derived lessons include the commune-based surveillance is valuable; live-stock restructuring HANOI 00002686 003.2 OF 003 should be focused on decreasing the risk of animal disease; more robust monitoring and evaluation is needed; and better coordination of international technical assistance would lead to greater efficiency. Project veterinary laboratories need more training (and not more equipment); restocking is extremely complicated (where flexibility during implementation is critical); and behavioral modification of farmers and those in industry is the effective target for public awareness efforts. ¶10. (SBU) The proposed new USD 36 million VAHIP project is aligned with the Green Book and carries forward the following underlying principle: to link activities to a broader agenda to strengthen the capacity of the sector to detect, control, and respond to avian influenza and other emerging infectious diseases. It consists of three components: animal health and production (control source of avian influenza) including introducing best practices more widely throughout the supply chain; human health (detect and respond to human cases); and project management and capacity building (overall and includes preparing for the medical consequences of a human pandemic). The project is intended to be integrated (MARD and MOH), decentralized (implementation at the provincial level with monitoring and evaluation at the central level),blended (50 percent grant and 50 percent IDA Credit (i.e., re-allocation of "cancelled" IDA funds),and multi-donor sponsored (co-financing from, for example, UN, World Bank, European Commission (Multi-donor Trust Funds-AHITF) and Government of Japan (PHRD Grant) and possible parallel financing (NZAid and AFD). ¶11. (SBU) The proposed animal health component is intended to be targeted, science-based and practical. Various principles include reducing the control-cost over time, changing industry practice, conducting minimal culling with ring vaccination in the setting of clusters, and minimizing the economic impact on poor and rural communities. The human component will address improving the technical quality and functioning of the surveillance system; improving the technical quality and efficiency of curative care preparedness; strengthening communication for behavior change in health care staff; and piloting approaches to improving health sector performance in the provinces and districts. The schedule to mobilize the VAHIP project is accelerated: selection of provinces (by October 27),review (by November 16),UNDP appraisals (by November 27),Government of Vietnam approval (early December),and negotiations (by December 14). MARINE