AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT JULY 27

UNCLAS TOKYO 004205 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 DEPT PASS TO AID/GH/HIDN DENNIS CARROLL SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU KSTH ECON PREL SOCI JA SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT JULY 27 REF: A. 05 STATE 153802 ¶B. TOKYO 4089 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. There were no significant avian influenza (AI) developments in Japan during the period July 21 to 27. No human or animal outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza were reported in Japan during the above period. -- Yamaguchi Prefecture to Conduct a Drill -- ¶2. In late August, Yamaguchi Prefectural Government will conduct a drill related to a human outbreak of avian influenza in the prefecture. The drill will be based on a scenario in which an infected person arrives at a port from overseas. Hospital, harbor, and fire personnel will join the drill to practice proper use of protective suits and masks, transferring patients, and sterilizing facilities. The prefecture conducted a similar drill for SARS cases in ¶2003. -- Preparation at Local Governments should be improved -- ¶3. On July 25, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) recommended that local governments and quarantine stations improve their preparedness against infectious diseases such as SARS and pandemic influenza. From December 2004 to February 2006, MIC's Administration Evaluation Bureau investigated the preparedness of quarantine stations and local governments for infectious diseases. MIC found that 25 out of the nation's 47 local governments had not designated hospitals that should accept patients infected with highly contagious infectious diseases. At 16 quarantine stations MIC investigated, their preparedness action plans were incomplete. Some of the stations did not conduct drills as required by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). MIC's Administration Evaluation Bureau criticized MHLW for producing policies, but leaving local governments to develop the actual responses themselves. SCHIEFFER