INDONESIA - MARCH 16 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 003430 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR EAP/IET, A/MED AND S/ES-O 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/BILL STEIGER AND AMAR BHAT PARIS FOR FAS/AG MINISTER COUNSELOR CANBERRA FOR APHIS/DHANNAPEL ROME FOR FAO NSC FOR JMELINE BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID/RDM/A USPACOM PASS to JO7 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO AMED CASC EAGR AMGT KFLU ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA - MARCH 16 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE REF: A) Jakarta 03199 and previous JAKARTA 00003430 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Local joint venture PT IPB Shigeta has launched an AI vaccine for poultry called CLOSE 5.1 using reverse genetic engineering. The firm plans to initially produce 180 million doses a year and distribute them throughout Asia. The Governor of East Java told the press on March 14 that laboratory tests of seven people with suspected avian influenza symptoms have returned negative. He thus declared his province free of AI in humans. The total number of confirmed human AI cases in Indonesia rose to 30 (with 22 deaths) on March 12 when Hong Kong University confirmed the H5N1 virus in a recently deceased 12-year old girl from Solo, Central Java. End Summary. AI Vaccine for Poultry -------------- ¶1. (U) The March 10 edition of the Indonesian language daily Kompas reported a March 9 announcement by PT IPB Shigeta Director Kamaluddin Zarkasie that the company had launched an AI vaccine for poultry called CLOSE 5.1. The firm reportedly used reverse genetic engineering of a local strain of the H5N1 virus originating from Legok, Banten province, to develop the vaccine. According to the article, the U.S. biotechnology company MedImmune Inc owns the patent, but IPB Shigeta has a license to produce the vaccine. The Tropical Disease Center of the University of Airlangga-Surabaya reportedly tested the safety the CLOSE 5.1 vaccine and deemed it safe and effective. ¶2. (U) PT. IPB Shigeta reportedly said since it has obtained a temporary production registration number for its CLOSE5.1 vaccine and is ready to produce 180 million dosages per year with a sales target of 8.5 billion yen (USD 72.6 million). The company will distribute the product beginning in April to mostly Asian markets. IPB Shigeta reportedly said it will establish the its first production facility at the Veterinary Faculty of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) complex, in Bogor, West Java. The firm will reportedly also build another plant soon, with a monthly production capacity of 100 million dosages. The IPB-owned PT. Bogor Life Science and Technology claimed that annual demand for AI poultry vaccines in 2005 reached 517 million dosages. Governor Says No Human AI East Java -------------- ¶3. (U) According to a March 14 article in the Surbaya daily Surya, East Java Governor Imam Utomo said that laboratory tests have confirmed that all seven patients allegedly showing symptoms of bird flu were free of the H5N1 AI virus. The governor reportedly said "East Java is free from that deadly virus. It means that up to now there is no one in this province infected with the virus." Human AI Case Profile -------------- JAKARTA 00003430 002.2 OF 002 ¶4. (SBU) Hong Kong University confirmed another human AI case on March 11, a recently deceased 12-year-old girl from Solo, Central Java. In addition, NAMRU-2 has determined another probable AI case in a 42-male from North Jakarta who died 15 March. NAMRU-2 data indicates the following AI- related case profile as of March 16: -- Number of laboratory confirmed (positive PCR and/or serology) human AI cases: 30, of which 22 have been fatal (fatality rate of 73 percent). -- Number of probable AI cases: 5, with 4 deaths (fatality rate of 80 percent). -- Number of cases awaiting verification by the US CDC: 1 -- Number of possible AI cases under investigation (last 30 days): 41. -- Number of excluded AI cases: 233. PASCOE