AVIAN INFLUENZA: TOKYO WEEKLY FEBRUARY 2

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000594 SIPDIS DEPT FOR OES/IHA POWELL, SINGER AND FENDRICK DEPT FOR EAP/J USDA PASS TO APHIS HHS PASS TO CDC HHS FOR OGHA STEIGER, BHAT AND ELVANDER SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU KSTH ECON PREL SOCI WHO JA SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: TOKYO WEEKLY FEBRUARY 2 REF: A. 05 STATE 153802 ¶B. TOKYO 435 AND PREVIOUS TOKYO 00000594 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. No human outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza (AI) were reported in Japan during the past week. -- MHLW Briefing on AI to Diplomatic Community -- ¶2. On January 26, ESToff attended a Diplomatic Briefing Session hosted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) during which the Ministry's Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases Control Office gave an overview of the GOJ's Pandemic Preparedness Action Plan. MHLW has released an English translation of its 79-page plan which can be found on the Ministry's website: http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/influenz a/index.html ¶3. The official presenting explained that MHLW released the plan in mid-November (first reported in 05 Tokyo 6267) and starting in December, the plan was applied to all GOJ ministries and agencies. It is based on the assumption that up to 25 million individuals will become infected by H5N1 during a pandemic in Japan, and is divided into two major operational phases addressing the measures that are necessary to prevent an outbreak and those that are needed after an outbreak occurs. ¶4. As reported by Embassy Tokyo earlier, Japan is currently in phase 3-A, or "human infection with a new subtype, but no human-to-human spread, no infection in Japan." The action plan calls for the following steps to be taken during this phase (additional comments made by the briefing official follow in parenthesis): - Develop the government's action plQ. (This process is mostly complete). - Alert overseas travelers. (The GOJ has been doing this by posting information at Quarantine Stations and on the Ministry's website.) - Ensure preventative measures against the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry flocks, particularly through guidance and support of farmers in the implementation of prevention measures. (The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has the lead here.) - Manufacture and stock a prototype vaccine source for the possible need of vaccination, and plan measures to secure eggs for the production of vaccines in the case of a pandemic. (The Ministry is now studying ways to ensure an adequate supply of eggs. Relating to the issue of vaccines, ESToff asked if the Ministry was actively researching cell-based vaccine production, but the official only mentioned egg-based vaccines in her response.) - Determine the amount of oseltamivir phosphate (a.k.a. Tamiflu) to be secured and stockpile it. (MHLW has already allocated a budget for this). - Strengthen the capacity of designated medical facilities that are responsible for the care and treatment of new influenza patients and request that they secure the necessary medical materials. (Local governments are working to strengthen their capacity to deal with a pandemic). - Provide information on HPAI to Japanese citizens as well as Japanese residing in countries where the outbreak is observed. ¶5. The briefing official said that MHLW is currently in the process of developing more detailed guidelines to supplement the plan and is working on preparing for the next phase (or 4/4A). She asked the representatives of the twenty-three countries in attendance for their cooperation in sharing information on national plans and the virus in the future. -- Clinical Trials on AI Vaccine to Begin Soon -- ¶6. On January 29, the Yomiuri Newspaper reported that the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) along with Japan's four vaccine producers would begin clinical trials TOKYO 00000594 002.2 OF 002 of a prototype avian influenza vaccine sometime this month. Though it is difficult to produce an effective pandemic influenza vaccine without the actual virus, NIID has determined that it is still useful to stockpile a prototype to be used in an emergency to inoculate medical workers on a priority basis. If everything goes according to plan, the expectation is that the GOJ would give its approval to produce the vaccine by 2007. ¶7. Because the makers cannot manufacture the prototype vaccine between April and September - or the manufacturing period for the seasonal flu vaccine - they would like to begin preparations for pandemic vaccine production starting this Fall even before the government issues its approval. In addition, because the virus has the ability to easily mutate, the researchers plan to use the most recent Indonesia strain of H5N1. -- AI Quick Detection Kit -- ¶8. MHLW has started work on developing a test kit to detect the possible presence of pandemic influenza within ten to fifteen minutes. The kit can indicate a possible infection by testing mucus taken from the back of the throat. The Ministry believes that prompt diagnosis will help medical authorities detect AI patients quickly and would be useful to prevent pandemic influenza from spreading widely. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) will lead the project. NIID aims to reach the final stages of development for the technology by April 2006. SCHIEFFER