INDONESIA - AUGUST 24 AVIAN INFLUENZA (AI) UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 010536 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/IET, A/MED AND S/ES-O DEPT FOR G/AIAG/JLANGE AND RFENDRICK DEPT FOR OES/FO, OES/EID, OES/PCI, OES/STC AND OES/IHA DEPT PASS TO USDA/FAS/DLP/HWETZEL AND FAS/ICD/LAIDIG DEPT ALSO PASS TO USDA/FAS/FAA/DYOUNG AND USDA/APHIS DEPT ALSO PASS TO USAID/ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL DEPT ALSO PASS TO HHS/WSTEIGER/ABHAT/MSTLOUIS AND HHS/NIH PARIS FOR FAS/AG MINISTER COUNSELOR CANBERRA FOR APHIS/DHANNAPEL ROME FOR FAO NSC FOR JMELINE BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID/RDM/A USPACOM ALSO PASS TO J07 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO AMED CASC EAGR AMGT PGOV ID KFLU SUBJECT: INDONESIA - AUGUST 24 AVIAN INFLUENZA (AI) UPDATE REF: A) Jakarta 10492 B) Jakarta 10140 and previous JAKARTA 00010536 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. At an August 18 meeting in Singapore, officials from Singapore, Indonesia, and the United States agreed to continue the proposed Avian Influenza Trilateral Project within the Tangerang municipality as originally planned (as opposed to expanding it to the much larger District of Tangerang). Three Government of Indonesia (GOI) officials participated in a regional APEC sponsored Pandemic Exercise conference in Singapore on August 17-18. Budi Tri Akoso, Chairman of the Indonesian Veterinary Association publicly criticized the GOI on August 11 for failing to adequately cull poultry and for not standardizing inoculation vaccine and procedures. As of August 23, data from NAMRU-2 and the Ministry of Health show 62 human AI cases in Indonesia with 48 fatalities. End Summary. Trilateral Technical Meeting -------------- ¶2. (U) Officials from Singapore, Indonesia, and the United States, met August 18 in Singapore to review the status of the proposed trilateral project to create an avian influenza free zone in Tangerang municipality, Banten Province, Indonesia. Yong Ying-I, Permanent Secretary of the Singaporean MOH hosted the meeting. Dr. Nyoman Kandun, Director General for Diseases Control and Environmental Health, Ministry of Health led the Indonesian delegation. Pat Patterson, Advisor for East Asia, Avian Influenza Working Group led the U.S. delegation. APHIS, HHS, USAID and representatives from Embassies Jakarta and Singapore also participated. ¶3. (U) During the meeting, participants reached consensus that the Tangerang project would go forward as originally planned with the target area to be Tangerang municipality and with the activities to be planned around both a human and avian focus. Participants further agreed that initial concerns with the plan's limited agricultural and veterinary components could be addressed within the context of the existing plan. Participants agreed on a "dual track" approach: the Government of Singapore (GOS) representatives informed the other participants that it has decided a bilateral agreement between the GOS and GOI will be sufficient for the GOS to fund the project through the REDI Centre, regardless of whether or not a formal trilateral agreement is needed. Implementation of activities will now occur while other issues are reviewed to determine whether any new understandings or agreements must be reached involving the parties. (Note: During a separate U.S.-Singapore bilateral meeting, Singapore MOH officials announced that Parliament had authorized Singapore MOH to sign a bilateral agreement with Indonesia in order to move forward Singapore's participation in the Tangerang project.) ¶4. (U) All parties agreed that their principal points of contact would meet in Jakarta within two weeks to identify appropriate participants for working groups and establish a timeframe for follow-up meetings. Dr. Kandun agreed that the GOI would provide an overall Project Director in order to spearhead implementation activities. All parties reiterated their financial commitments JAKARTA 00010536 002.2 OF 003 to the project and their agreement to move forward. Embassy Jakarta agreed to provide a comprehensive listing of USG AI activities already underway in Tangerang. The group also agreed to publicize the project once pilot activities begin. APEC Seminar on Assessing Pandemic Preparedness -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) Three GOI officials participated in a regional seminar organized by APEC on Pandemic Preparedness in Singapore from August 17-18. Dr. Nyoman Kandun, Director General for Diseases Control and Environmental Health; Dr. Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, Vice Executive Secretary II to the National Committee on Avian Influenza Management and Pandemic Alert; and Naily Chilmijati Secretariat Coordinator for the National Committee on Avian SIPDIS Influenza Management and Pandemic Alert represented the GOI. Featured speakers familiarized participants with different options for assessing their plans, policies and procedures. Speakers from more experienced economies also shared exercise experience and best practices with all APEC economies. Lisa Kramer, a featured speaker from USAID Indonesia, presented on donor assistance for implementing simulation exercises. Vet Association Criticizes Efforts to Contain Infected Poultry -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) Local press reported that Budi Tri Akoso, Chairman of the Indonesian Veterinary Association criticized the GOI on August 11 for its efforts to contain AI infected poultry. In addition to charges that the GOI is not sufficiently culling poultry, Akoso criticized the GOI for using eight different kinds of poultry vaccine. "The government should use just one type," he suggested. "The more vaccines we use, the more likely they are to endanger other creatures." Experts note that the use of a variety of vaccines to stop the spread of H5N1 might cause certain strains of the virus to become more robust and resistant to vaccines. Akoso also criticized the GOI for using different methods for disposing of culled chickens. Human AI Case Profile -------------- ¶7. (SBU) NAMRU-2 has confirmed four new cases (three fatal) since we transmitted Ref B. NAMRU-2 data indicates the following AI- related case profile as of August 23: -- Number of laboratory confirmed (positive PCR and/or serology) human AI cases: 62, of which 48 have been fatal (case fatality rate of 77 percent). -- Number of probable AI cases 4, with 2 deaths (fatality rate of 50 percent). -- Number of cases awaiting sequencing at the U.S. CDC: 2. -- Number of possible untested AI cases under investigation (last 30 days): approximately 22. JAKARTA 00010536 003.2 OF 003 Note: NAMRU-2 data corrQonds with Ministry of Health data but may vary at times with AI case figures presented on the official World Health Organization (WHO) website, which usually lags NAMRU- 2 data by one week. The WHO website, last updated on August 23, notes 60 human AI cases in Indonesia with 46 deaths. WHO figures can be accessed at www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza. PASCOE