BURMA AI OUTBREAK - MARCH 16 UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000359 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA; UDSA FOR FAS/PECAD, FAS/CNMP, FAS/AAD, APHIS; BANGKOK FOR USAID (JOHN MACARTHUR),APHIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2016 TAGS: EAGR EAID AMED PGOV PREL CASC TBIO KFLU BM SUBJECT: BURMA AI OUTBREAK - MARCH 16 UPDATE REF: A. RANGOON 355 ¶B. SECSTATE 41406 Classified By: Poloff Dean Tidwell for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On March 15, NIAH Bangkok confirmed that chicken specimens from Burma tested positive for the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus (AI). The Bangkok laboratory faxed the information to the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries the same day, and at 9:00 p.m. on March 15, the GOB made its first public announcement about the AI outbreak on national television. Local newspapers reported the story today, March 16, with extensive but not front-page coverage. WHO Burma updated emboffs on the WHO representative,s recent visit to Mandalay and MOH's activities in the aftermath of the AI outbreak among poultry there. An expert from FAO Bangkok arrived in Rangoon, together with USAID Bangkok Infectious Diseases Advisor, Dr. John MacArthur. Both plan to visit Mandalay on March 17 to gather additional information. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) According to an FAO Bangkok source currently in Burma (PROTECT),the specimens sent from Burma to the National Institute for Animal Health in Bangkok (NIAH) on March 13 tested positive for the H5N1 virus. The NIAH faxed the results to the GOB on March 15. The NIAH then sent the specimens to Australia for further sequencing. The source asked us to keep this information confidential until the GOB officially announces the laboratory results. ¶3. (U) The government's Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) informed the Burmese public about the outbreak of AI for the first time at the end of the evening news broadcast on March ¶15. The GOB told the public there had been an AI outbreak in several townships in upper Burma, but assured the listeners that the government had the situation under control. The news story stated that the GOB had sent samples to Thailand and Australia and was awaiting test results. The news stories gave details of townships where the outbreak may have occurred, the numbers of chicken deaths at each, and the number destroyed. Following the announcement, a Ministry of Health spokesperson read a short document describing AI cases worldwide. ¶4. (U) Local newspapers carried an official announcement from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MLF) on the morning of March 16. The government's mouthpiece, the New Light of Myanmar, listed four townships in Sagaing and Mandalay Divisions (Shwebo East, Kanbalu Zigon, Khin Oo, and Pyigyidagun) where suspected outbreaks occurred. The announcement described measures the authorities are taking in each township, including restricting movement to and from the affected areas, temporary closure of markets, and continuous investigation of poultry farms. The announcement also contained a WHO-produced checklist of symptoms of AI and gave instructions on measures the public should take to contain spread of the disease. First among them was to report promptly to local authorities any suspicious disease outbreaks. A separate article provided details of the "comprehensive, coordinated measures the GOB took in cooperation with international organizations and local authorities." ¶5. (SBU) Dr. Adik Wibowo, WHO Burma representative, returned on March 15 night from a visit to Mandalay. She briefed Dr. John MacArthur, Infectious Diseases Advisor from USAID in Bangkok and poloff on her visit and some of WHO's recent activities. -- Dr. Wibowo met the Deputy Minister of Health in Mandalay on Tuesday and he again requested Tamiflu for the field investigation teams. WHO has since given some of its Tamiflu to the MOH, but is stressing that the drugs are not for prophylaxis, but are for team members who show early symptoms of AI; -- WHO has approved one of its officers, Dr. Maung Maung Lin, to join Dr. MacArthur and FAO Bangkok expert, Dr. Wantanee Kalpravidh, on their assessment trip to Mandalay March 17-18. Dr. Maung Maung Lin will then remain in Mandalay to monitor outbreak activities for WHO. The GOB approved Dr. MacArthur's and Dr. Wantanee's travel to Mandalay, but refused permission to expatriate WHO officer, Dr. Kanokporn Coninx, because WHO submitted her request to travel to the affected areas too late for the three days required for Ministry of Defense approval. (The GOB nominally requires three weeks advance notice.); -- The Director General of the Department of Health at MOH told Dr. Wibowo in a separate meeting that the MOH urgently needs Tamiflu, PPEs, and disinfectant for the field investigation teams; -- WHO Regional Office in New Delhi has granted WHO Burma $20,000 in emergency funds for AI activities; -- The MOH plans to conduct a 4-day simulation training exercise for human AI in the Rangoon area from March 16-19; -- The MOH received 500 field test kits in January. So far, they have conducted one field test on a human case in Mandalay. The MOH says it has 400 field tests remaining; -- Dr. Wibowo expressed frustration over recent media reports that misquote WHO representatives as blaming U.S. and EU sanctions for Burma's poor health infrastructure; -- WHO is concerned that the MOH and MLF are not cooperating as closely as they should, and also appealed to us to help encourage FAO to cooperate more closely with WHO; ¶6. (SBU) Dr. Wantanee Kalpravidh, FAO Bangkok veterinary expert based in Bangkok, arrived in Rangoon on March 16 and also briefed WHO and emboffs. She reported: -- Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) plans to send Dr. Sudarat, a Thai virologist, to Burma for two weeks to strengthen the capacity of the MLF's diagnostic laboratory. She will bring 400 field test kits; -- FAO has already supplied MLF with 500 liters of concentrated disinfectant and 50 backpack sprayers. It also shipped 100 PPEs to FAO Burma and plans to provide additional specimen shipping containers; -- FAO Burma has requested $45,000 in emergency funds from FAO headquarters in Rome to help contain AI. FAO Burma has designated some of the funds to hire a national outbreak coordinator. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: The GOB's decision to allow the Burmese media to publicize the AI cases in the Mandalay area and provide information on how to detect and protect oneself from AI are very positive developments in a country that rarely allows the reporting of any sort of bad news. The official announcement is dated March 13, the date specimens were first went to Bangkok, although it only appeared in local media on March 15, after NIAH Bangkok confirmed they were positive, but today's media coverage signals that the regime is giving a green light to local officials to report suspicions and cooperate with MOH and MLF officials. We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to urge better cooperation among WHO, FAO, and other international organizations in addressing Burma's very real needs to identify and contain the now-confirmed cases of AI among birds here. END COMMENT. VILLAROSA