AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT MARCH 30

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 001693

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AIAG AMBASSADOR LANGE
DEPT FOR OES/IHA SINGER AND FENDRICK
DEPT FOR EAP/J
USDA PASS TO APHIS
HHS PASS TO CDC
HHS FOR OGHA STEIGER, BHAT AND ELVANDER

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KFLU KSTH ECON PREL SOCI WHO JA
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT MARCH 30

REF: A. 05 STATE 153802

B. TOKYO 1529 AND PREVIOUS

C. TOKYO 1613

D. TOKYO 163

TOKYO 00001693 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) The following is an update on avian influenza (AI)
developments in Japan for the period March 23 to March 30.
No human or animal outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza were
reported in Japan during the past week.

-- Tokyo Decides on Details for AI Assistance --


2. (U) The GOJ recently decided how it would disburse the
USD 155 million plus pledged by Tokyo at last year's ASEAN
Plus Three Summit and January's Beijing AI Donors'
Conference to support regional and worldwide efforts to
fight avian and pandemic influenza. The assistance will be
used to procure antiviral medications, personal protective
equipment, and diagnostic kits for ASEAN members, and will
fund a variety of projects targeting human and animal
health, risk communications, and research projects. Please
see REF C for full details.

- Kyoto-area University to Establish AI Research Center -


3. (U) On March 28, Kyoto Sangyo University announced that
it would establish a research center for avian influenza
later this October. Koichi Ohtsuki, currently a professor
of veterinary microbiology at Tottori University, will head
the center. Researchers will focus on the mechanisms of
infection and conduct epidemiological research to prevent
the introduction of new viruses into Japan. Kyoto Sangyo
University will establish a preparatory office to begin
work on the new center on April 1. The university in
located in Kyoto City.

-- University in Western Japan Builds BSL-3 Lab --


4. (U) Tottori University completed construction of a
biosafety level three (BSL-3) laboratory to allow for
research on human and animal infectious diseases
transmitted through birds at its epidemiological research
center in Tottori Prefecture. This is the first BSL-3 lab
to be located at any university in the western region of
Honshu (the largest of the four main islands in Japan).
The lab will open for operations on April 1. Research
teams at the university plan to breed up to a maximum of 40
chickens at the lab to conduct research on virus mutation.
The university will investigate which kinds of viruses
mutate easily into other forms during bird-to-bird
transmission.


5. (SBU) The local politics surrounding BSL-3 and BSL-4
labs in Japan is often similar to that surrounding nuclear
facilities - namely safety concerns that lead to a "not in
my backyard" mindset. In order to ensure that the local
public understood the facility was safe, Tottori University
hosted an open house on March 25 and invited 30 area
residents to explain to them what kinds of safety measures
would be implemented at the laboratory. These included
talking about negative air pressure to ensure that
pathogens are not released outside the lab, rules on
disposing equipment and gear, and sterilization protocols
for non-disposable items.

-- Prefectures Unite to Respond to Potential Crises --


6. (U) In response to the recent outbreaks of avian
influenza across the globe, nine prefectures including
Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Wakayama, Nara, Shiga, Fukui, Mie and
Tokushima decided to conclude a comprehensive agreement on
mutual crisis management support on March 28. This
agreement is the first of its kind, and covers all
potential crises in addition to natural disasters, such as
terrorist attacks. Based on the agreement, the prefectures
will accept evacuees from their surrounding neighbors and

TOKYO 00001693 002.2 OF 002


provide them with necessary aid.

-- Industry Representative Doubts GOJ Efforts --


7. (SBU) ESToff and EST FSN met with Jiro Fukuda (strictly
protect),Manager of Nisshinbo Industries, Inc.'s GAIACOT
project, to receive an update on the development of the
company's new copper zeolite facemask. As reported in REF
D, Nisshinbo's studies show that the mask may be effective
in protecting the wearer from infection by the avian
influenza virus because it is able to inactivate 99.9
percent of the H9N2 virus after ten minutes of contact.
Fukuda admitted that some test results showed that the mask
worked even faster in the range of one to two minutes, but
that to be on the safe side, Nisshinbo was using ten
minutes as the figure in its research reporting.


8. (SBU) Nisshinbo has started to sell the masks to
individual customers by mail order. However, because the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has not yet
approved the mask for use, the manufacturer had to remove
all references to avian influenza from the product
packaging. Fukuda also said that his company had to change
the name of the product because earlier media reports had
directly linked GAIACOT with its AI fighting properties.


9. (SBU) Nisshinbo also plans to produce an air filter and
a floor mat for use in poultry farms and to manufacture
clothes for poultry industry workers made from a zeolite-
based material. Fukuda told ESToff that he felt the GOJ's
efforts to prevent the spread of avian influenza were not
enough, and that government agencies were not providing
sufficient guidance to industry in preparation for a
possible pandemic. He said MHLW and the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) are focusing
only on surveillance and planning for the actions to be
taken after an outbreak, but they are not approaching
companies to proactively use their R&D capabilities to
prepare well in advance of an AI outbreak in Japan.

DONOVAN