INDONESIA - OCTOBER 3 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002796 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, G/AIAG AND OES USAID FOR ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL DEPT ALSO PASS TO HHS/WSTEIGER/MABDOO/MSTLOUIS AND HHS/NIH GENEVA FOR WHO/HOHMAN USDA/FAS/OSTA BRANT, ROSENBLUM USDA/APHIS ANNELLI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO AMED CASC EAGR AMGT PGOV ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA - OCTOBER 3 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE REF: A) Jakarta 02734 B) Jakarta 02560 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. In its October 2007, GlobeAsia (a respected Indonesian business magazine) ranked Minister of Health Fadilah Supari as number 16 of the top 99 Most Powerful Women in Indonesia. On October 1, the National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD) confirmed H5N1 in a deceased patient, raising total Indonesian cases to 107 with 86 deaths. On September 17, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) along with USAID and other stakeholders agreed to implement an immediate action plan to reduce enzootic H5N1 in poultry. The Health Ministry (MOH) plans to conduct a field simulation exercise for rapid containment of human-to-human transmission of avian influenza in March 2008. -------------- -------------- SUPARI MAKES INDONESIA'S MOST POWERFUL WOMEN LIST -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) In its October 2007 issue, GlobeAsia (a monthly Indonesian business magazine) ranked Minister of Health Supari as number 16 of 99 Most Powerful Women. The magazine notes that Supari is "one of four women serving in the cabinet of President SBY. As Minister of Health in a nation with more than 225 million people, Siti Fadilah has one of the toughest jobs in the country. But her quiet strength and dedication has seen her overcoming a series of health scares although she has still to fully overcome the bird flu problem." -------------- -------------- NAMRU'S SURVEILLANCE NETWORK PICKS UP LATEST CASE -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) NAMRU-2 identified Indonesia's latest H5N1 case through routine testing of samples from its flu surveillance network. The sample was from a 21 year old West Jakarta man, who died on September 28. NAMRU-2 shared the sample with NIHRD, which confirmed H5N1 virus on October 1. As of October 1, GOI confirms 107 Indonesian human cases with 86 deaths. -------------- IMMEDIATE FOCUS ON REDUCING VIRUS IN POULTRY -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On September 17, USAID and the MOA held a key partners meeting to advance a detailed implementation plan for immediate AI control in animals. Agencies represented at the meeting included the National Committee for AI Control and Influenza Pandemic Preparedness KOMNAS FBPI),USDA, Food and Agriculture Organization, World Bank, AusAID, Government of Japan, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI),and Development Alternatives Incorporated (a USAID contractor). ¶4. The plan's initial objective is to evaluate poultry vaccine efficacy. Research findings reported earlier this year indicated that none of the currently approved vaccines provided significant protection from mortality when challenged with a virus recently isolated from a flock in West Java. The partners agreed to a plan to simultaneously evaluate the efficacy of existing poultry vaccine and develop a new vaccine(s) against the currently circulating poultry virus. Mass vaccination using the identified vaccine will take place in West Java Province with its high concentrations of both commercial and backyard poultry. Researchers will evaluate and compare the effectiveness of mass vaccination and other control strategies in an operational research project under the direction of (ILRI). The project will involve several field studies. -------------- PANDEMIC INFLUENZA SIMULATION EXERCISE -------------- ¶5. (U) The Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari approved that MOH will lead a field simulation exercise for the rapid containment of a pandemic influenza virus in Bali in March 2008. Other participants will include the Indonesian police and military, quarantine and JAKARTA 00002796 002 OF 002 disaster management agencies, and KOMNAS. As a prelude to the March field simulation, the MOH is also planning for a tabletop exercise in Bali to occur in late October or November. -------------- UPCOMING AI EVENTS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Embassy Jakarta reports the following current and upcoming AI events: -- Dr. Endang Sedyaningsih Mamahit, Senior NIHRD Researcher, is currently participating in meetings in Geneva. --KOMNAS will hold a donor mapping meeting in Jakarta in late October - specific date TBD. --In support of the Tangerang trilateral project, KOMNAS, USDA and the Tangerang Secretariat will sponsor a Geographic Information System and Global Positioning System (GIS/GPS) training course from October 22-31, 2007. --Widjaja Lukito, Advisor to the Minister on Health Public Policy, will participate in the Chatham House Meeting in London scheduled on 17-18 October, 2007. HEFFERN