VIETNAM AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE - SCATTERED OUTBREAKS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001920 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, INR, OES/STC, OES/IHA, MED STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE AND GH STATE PASS TO HHS/OGHA (STIEGER/VALDEZ/DMILLER/HICKEY) CDC FOR OGHA (SBLOUT/KMCCALL) AND DIV-FLU (NCOX/AMOHEN) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (STERN) HHS PASS TO FIC/NIH (RGLASS) USDA PASS TO APHIS, FAS (OSTA AND OCRA),FSIS BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC (MMALISON),USAID (JMACARTHUR/MBRADY) BANGKOK FOR APHIS (NCARDENAS),REO(JWALLER) BEIJING FOR HHS HEALTH ATTACHE (BROSS) PHNOM PENH FOR CDC INFLUENZA COORDINATOR(WBRADY) ROME FOR FAO VIENTIANE FOR CDC INFLUENZA COORDINATOR (ACORWIN) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR KFLU VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE - SCATTERED OUTBREAKS THROUGHOUT COUNTRY REF: A. HANOI 1981 B. HANOI 1835 C. HANOI 1793 HANOI 00001920 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Avian influenza outbreaks continue to flare up in various locations across Vietnam, with six provinces now reporting infected birds over the past month. All have been quickly and easily controlled. Officials have not yet linked the outbreaks, though they may represent the early onset of the wave of infection that normally spreads during the cooler, winter months. Testing has shown that a Korean national with flu-like symptoms who recently died in Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta did not/not suffer from H5N1 avian influenza A. End Summary. November Outbreak in Ben Tre Province -------------- ¶2. On November 9, the Department of Animal Health (DAH) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported an outbreak in a flock of 60 2 month-old ducks in Hoi An village, Da Phuoc Hoi commune, Mo Cay district, Ben Tre Province (approximately 85 kilometers south of Ho Chi Minh City),the sixth province to have reported outbreaks among poultry within the past month. The flock began to sicken on November 1, leading to 36 deaths. DAH testing on November 6 confirmed the presence of H5N1 avian influenza. Ben Tre province borders Tra Vinh province, which suffered an earlier outbreak (ref C). November Outbreak in Ha Nam Province -------------- ¶3. (U) On November 6, DAH reported the death of 590 ducks in northern Ha Nam province (approximately 60 km south of Hanoi). The die-off of the flock of two-month-old ducks started on November 5. November 7 testing by DAH confirmed the presence of H5N1 avian influenza. Additional tests also found the H5N1 virus in samples taken from two dead chickens found in a river in that province. Cao Bang and Quang Tri Hit Again -------------- ¶4. (U) On November 5, DAH reported additional incidences of H5N1 in Cao Bang and Quang Tri provinces, both of which earlier reported isolated avian influenza outbreaks (ref B). Five out of seven specimens from chickens and ducks in two communes of Trung Khanh district of Cao Bang province tested positive for H5N1 by the National Centre for Veterinary Diagnosis. Two villages (Phuoc Thi and An My) in Gio My commune, Gio Linh district in central Quang Tri province reported deaths of ducks between November 2 and 4, resulting in the culling of 2,673 ducks. An Agriculture Ministry official warned that continued flooding in Quang Tri could help spread the virus to nearby areas. (Note: Related flooding in provinces north of Quang Tri also may facilitate the continued outbreak of cholera reported in ref A) October Outbreak in Nam Dinh -------------- ¶5. (U) On October 31, DAH reported an outbreak in a flock of 400 HANOI 00001920 002.2 OF 003 unvaccinated 35-day-old ducks in My Loc District, My Phuc commune in Nam Dinh province (about 70 kilometers southeast of Hanoi and close to Ha Nam province). The ducks initially appeared ill on October 26 and over half the flock died on October 28. On October 30, the National Centre for Veterinary Diagnosis Specimens confirmed the presence of H5N1 in samples from taken from the flock. The unvaccinated ducks were said to have been bought from Ha Tay province (located between Ha Nam and Nam Dinh). On the same day, DAH confirmed recurrence of outbreaks in Tra Vinh province in the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam. This outbreak occurred on October 29 in Chau Thanh district, Thanh My commune and involved 500 ills ducks, 400 of which reportedly died (see ref C for details of an October 10 outbreak in a different district in Tra Vinh province). Initial Cao Bang Outbreak -------------- ¶6. (U) On October 26, DAH reported an October 10 outbreak of avian influenza in Trung Khanh district, Duc Hong commune in Cao Bang, a mountainous northern province on the Chinese border. DAH reported that samples tested for positive on 25 October for H5N1 influenza A in 560 poultry (480 ducks and 80 chickens) in a small, rural village. Though the onset of the outbreak occurred over two weeks ago, villagers did not promptly report the incident to the authorities. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat asked relevant agencies to strictly control the trading and transportation of poultry and poultry products across borders and in local markets to prevent the spread of this dangerous strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus. Possible Human Infection Debunked -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The Pasteur Institute confirmed to Consulate staff that a South Korean national who recently died in Can Tho City, in the Mekong Delta, tested negative for H5N1. On Nov. 7, the Tropical Disease Hospital of HCMC also referred a sample from a second Korean national (this one in Dac Lac province),which also tested negative for H5N1. Local media had erroneously reported that the first victim possibly was infected with H5N1 and that his father in South Korea also might have suffered from the virus. Outbreaks Likely Unrelated -------------- ¶8. Currently six provinces scattered across the country -Quang Tri (central),Cao Bang (far north),Ha Tay (north),Nam Dinh (north),Tra Vinh (south) and Ben Tre (south) - have reported H5N1 in the past 21 days. Based upon information received to date, it appears that outbreaks are not linked the GVN used standard response measures including culling, vaccination of surrounding flocks, disinfection of duck housing, and restriction of the movement of poultry beyond the outbreak area to contain each outbreak without geographic spread. Most likely, these outbreaks represent the endemic nature of the virus as well as possible continued introductions from China. HANOI 00001920 003.2 OF 003 GVN Worries about Probable Spread -------------- ¶9. According to MARD's Veterinary Agency, flooding in the central region and Mekong Delta, along with cold weather in the north, create favorable conditions for the development of outbreaks of H5N1. Experts worry that local lack of awareness may facilitate the spread of this disease in fowl, particularly in rural areas, such as Cao Bang, where locals throw dead birds into rivers and streams. At a recent meeting of the National Steering Board for Bird Flu Control, Deputy MARD Minister Bui Ba Bong asked the Veterinary Agency and the Veterinary Institute to immediately send experts to high risk provinces throughout the country. MICHALAK