AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT December 21

UNCLAS TOKYO 007106 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 December 21 REF: A. 05 STATE 153802 ¶B. TOKYO 6907 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. There were no significant avian influenza (AI) developments in Japan during the period December 07 to 21. No human or animal outbreaks of H5N1 AI were reported in Japan during the above period. --Japan to Strengthen Monitoring of Migratory Birds- ¶1. On December 14, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) announced that neither H5 nor H7 viruses have been found in samples taken from migratory birds in its investigation conducted from September through November this year. However, MOE will strengthen monitoring of migratory birds in response to the recent cases of H5N1 in Korea in November. MOE planned to investigate migratory birds from China and the Korean Peninsula at 20 stations in Japan until March next year. Seven stations have been added to the original plan. --Japan's 2007 Budget for Infectious Diseases to Increase-- ¶2. On December 20, the Ministry of Finance drafted Japan's budget for JFY2007. The draft budget for countermeasures against infectious diseases, including avian influenza, has been increased to Yen 18.4 billion (USD153 million) from Yen 18.1 billion (USD 151 million) in the previous year. The draft will be submitted to the Diet in January after consulting with ministries, and finalized by March 2007. --Kurayoshi City Conducted a Drill-- ¶3. On December 8, the Kosei Hospital of Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture, conducted a drill based on a hypothetical human case of avian influenza. The Kosei Hospital will be designated next May as the sole hospital in the prefecture able to treat patients infected with the most dangerous category I viruses, such as Ebola and smallpox. The drill was based on a hypothetical scenario in which a hospital patient, who had recently returned from Thailand, was discovered to have symptoms of avian influenza. In the drill, the patient was transferred in a closed capsule to the Kosei Hospital, where doctors wearing protective suits conducted examinations of the patient. DONOVAN