INDONESIA - NOVEMBER 5 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 003075 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, G/AIAG AND OES USAID FOR ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL DEPT ALSO PASS TO HHS/WSTEIGER/MABDOOM/STLOUIS 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 - NOVEMBER 5 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE REF: A) Jakarta 3025 B) Jakarta 2795 1.(SBU) Summary. APHIS and Indonesian health authorities co-sponsored a Geographic Information System/Global Positioning System training workshop in Tangerang from October 22-31. Government of Indonesia (GOI) officials attributed delays in Tangerang Trilateral Project implementation to GOI funding shortfalls during an October 24 meeting on the project. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is planning a simulation exercise for rapid containment of an epicenter outbreak of avian influenza in March ¶2008. USAID delivered 100,000 new sets of personal prevention equipment (PPE) to GOI during the month of October. According to a public opinion poll commissioned by Tempo Magazine (Indonesia's leading weekly news magazine),the MOH headed by Siti Fadilah Supari received the third highest performance rating among Indonesia's ministries. The MOH confirmed two new cases of avian influenza during the week of October 31, raising total confirmed cases to 112, with 90 deaths. End summary. -------------- APHIS Hosts GIS/GPS Workshop -------------- ¶2. (U) Over 60 Tangerang municipal government health and agriculture workers participated in a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) training workshop during October 22-31 sponsored by APHIS/USDA, National Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Preparedness (KOMNAS),and the Tangerang Secretariat. Two scientists from USDA's Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health conducted the training. USDA is providing 50 hand-held GPS devices, five desktop computers, and GIS software to support the Tangerang Trilateral Project. -------------- -------------- Tangerang Project Stalls Due to Lack of GOI Funds -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In an October 24 meeting with Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention (REDI) Centre and Embassy officials, Center for Diseases Control and Environmental Health Director General Dr. Nyoman Kandun and members of the Tangerang Secretariat attributed projected delays to GOI funding shortfalls. Although the U.S. and Singaporean support for the project is now in place, GOI reportedly used 2007 money planned for Tangerang towards an important poverty program. ¶4. (SBU) Kandun was not optimistic that additional GOI funds would be available for 2007. He believes that most of the requested $2.3 million for 2008 for Tangerang will materialize, but access to funds may be delayed until April or May. Kandun promised to do everything possible to secure the funds for next year. The Ministry of Agriculture did not request specific 2008 funds to support AI control in poultry. Without some assurance of GOI funding, the project will remain stymied. ¶5. (SBU) AI surveillance in poultry by the local Animal Health Service and the Participatory Disease Surveillance team in Tangerang indicates that AI is endemic in the district and that more human cases can be expected if appropriate control measures are not instituted. Since most of the Tangerang cases (13 of 14 cases) occurred in the district and not in the municipality, the Secretariat recommended expanding the trilateral project coverage to SIPDIS the district. -------------- -------------- CDC COLLABORATES ON PLANS FOR SIMULATION TRAINING -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is working closely with the MOH, KOMNAS, the Indonesian military, Indonesian police, and other key Ministries to plan a field simulation exercise for rapid containment of an AI outbreak with sustained human to human transmission. The simulation exercise will test operational plans (developed by inter-sectoral working groups),for rapid containment JAKARTA 00003075 002 OF 002 of an avian flu outbreak in Jembrana District, Bali in March 2008 (date TBD). ¶7. (SBU) CDC is also working with the MOH zoonosis sub-directorate on a communication strategy for AI at the provincial and district levels. Recruitment is underway for an Egyptian consultant to assist MOH establish a work plan for the BSL3 laboratory. The MOH together with CDC plan to revitalize the CDC Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) in Indonesia. A team of external consultants will arrive November 4-14 to review activities and assist in the development of a long-term plan. -------------- USAID EXPANDS PPE DISTRIBUTION AND TRAINING -------------- ¶8. (U) In October, USAID provided 100,000 new sets of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the GOI for use in human and poultry surveillance and response activities. USAID is sending a portion to KOMNAS for an emergency stockpile and distributing other PPE to about 100 referral hospitals in Indonesia. USAID will provide additional PPE as the current stock is depleted. ¶9. (U) USAID Community Based Avian Influenza Control program (CBAIC) trained 13,138 volunteers to support AI prevention and surveillance services to communities throughout Java, Bali, and parts of Sumatra. With support from USAID, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) commenced refresher as well as expansion training of animal health surveillance and response officers and expect fully trained officers covering all districts on Java, Bali, and Sumatra by the end of May 2008. ¶10. (U) The World Health Organization (WHO),with support from USAID, continues to train human surveillance officers. To date, authorities have trained 104 officers to cover most districts in Java, Bali, and parts of Sumatra. Training in North Sumatra will commence on November 5. -------------- INDONESIANS SATISFIED WITH MINISTRY OF HEALTH -------------- ¶11. (U) In a recent public opinion poll of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his government published in Tempo weekly magazine, Indonesians ranked the MOH, headed by Minister Supari, as third highest in performance(75.9%)of all the Ministries after the Indonesian Military (84%) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (77.6%). -------------- AVIAN INFLUENZA CASE REPORT -------------- ¶12. (U) On October 31, the MOH and Eijkman Institute confirmed H5N1 in a 3-year old boy from Tangerang District. The hospital discharged the boy at the insistence of the boy's family, against doctor's advice. The patient is a Tangerang neighbor of a recent 5-year old female H5N1 victim. ¶13. On November 2, MOH confirmed H5N1 in a 30-year old female from Tangerang who died over the weekend. Currently Indonesia reports 112 H5N1 cases with 90 fatalities. HUME