INDONESIA - SEPTEMBER 11 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001733 SIPDIS UNCLASSIFIED DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, G/AIAG, L/DL, EAP/EX, AND OES/IHA USAID FOR ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL DEPT ALSO PASS TO HHS/WSTEIGER/MSTLOUIS AND HHS/NIH DEPT ALSO PASS TO DOJ for OFL GENEVA FOR WHO/HOHMAN USDA/FAS/OSTA BRANT, ROSENBLUM USDA/APHIS ANNELLI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO EAGR AMGT PGOV ID KLIG SUBJECT: INDONESIA - SEPTEMBER 11 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE ¶1. (U) Summary. On 8 September, the Ministry of Health (MOH) publicly reported two avian influenza (AI) cases, and the World Health Organization (WHO) followed suit. MOH experienced staffing changes including a change in Director General of the Directorate of Disease Control & Environmental Hygiene (DCEH),Head of Biomedical and Pharmacy Research at the National Institute of Health Research and Development. Minister of Health Supari reviewed and approved the cooperative agreement between DCEH and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Minister Supari received negative press in recent weeks for some of her actions and continues to give speeches about her book and work on behalf of developing nations. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service hosted a workshop to better coordinate government and commercial farmers to develop an industry safety assessment mechanism to create disease free farms. End Summary. -------------- -------------- Two Cases Reported by MOH, Featured on WHO Web Site -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Ministry of Health posted two new AI cases on its web site in Bahasa Indonesia the week of 8 September. On 10 September the WHO updated its web site to reflect those same cases. The WHO reports the total case count at 137 with 112 fatalities. Post was aware of these cases before the Ministry of Health and WHO officially announced them. ¶3. (U) The first patient was a 38 year old male from Tangerang Municipality, Banten Province who developed symptoms on 4 July 2008, was hospitalized on 9 July, and died on 10 July. There were free roaming poultry throughout his neighborhood, including a commercial poultry pen owned by a neighbor. The second patient, a 20 year old male from Tangerang District, developed symptoms on 20 July, was hospitalized on 29 July, and died on 31 July. Reports indicate that chickens from the case's household had died in the week preceding the onset of his symptoms and that he had slaughtered and consumed some of his stock during this period. -------------- -------------- Changes in Staffing Within the Ministry of Health -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) Dr. I. Nyoman Kandun, Director, Directorate of Direct Transmitted Disease Control, Directorate General of Disease Control & Environmental Hygiene, (P2M) retired 1 September. His interim replacement as is Dr. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, who is linked politically to Minister Supari. Dr. Tjandra previously worked as Head of the Subdirectorate of Directly Transmitted Diseases, and has a background in pulmonary medicine. CDC staff worked extensively with him on the pandemic simulation exercise in Bali in April 2008. ¶5. (U) Management changes also occurred at the National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD). Dr. Trihono, former Head of Program and Cooperation, in the Research and Development Center of Ecology and Health Status, replaced Dr. Endang Mamahit as the Director of the Center for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research and Development. Please note that Dr. Trihono is not the same person as Dr. Triono Soendoro, the Director of NIHRD. Dr. Trihono recently indicated his interest in renewing the cooperative agreement with CDC and adding projects with the Biosecurity Engagement Program (BEP). ¶6. (U) Staff from the Indonesian Directorate General for Disease Control and Environmental Hygiene briefed and received approval from the Minister of Health for a work plan outlined in the renewed cooperative agreement with CDC. Dr. Trihono from NIHRD indicated his interest in renewing the cooperative agreement with CDC and has prepared a brief outlining priority activities including some projects related to the Biosecurity Engagement Program (BEP). -------------- Minister of Health Receives Bad Press -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Over the past several months, Indonesian media outlets have been critical of Minister Supari. JAKARTA 00001733 002 OF 002 Her reputation has suffered due to several unpopular moves and the resultant press coverage. In the latest, she was blasted for withholding information about bacteria in infant formula, and several months prior, she earned very negative coverage for expelling poor patients from hospitals. -------------- -------------- Minister of Health Gives another Speech about Her Book -------------- -------------- ¶8. (U) On September 4, Minister Supari spoke about her book, "It's Time for the World to Change," during a panel discussion at Paramadina University. She initiated the discussion by describing the system she stated was unfair: that the developing countries, who supplied the H5N1 virus to the WHO for analysis and eventual vaccine production by commercial companies, were unable to purchase those same vaccines at a reasonable price. She stated that because Indonesia and other small countries had lost faith in the current GISN system, she had proposed a new mechanism, WHO Influenza Network (WIN). The new mechanism would be more transparent, be acknowledged under international law, include a user-friendly tracking system, and include a material transfer agreement with monetary and non-monetary benefits. At the conclusion of her speech, Supari reiterated that her real desire was to increase transparency in health and politics, and close the gap between developed and developing countries. ¶9. (U) Other panelists, Anies Baswedan (Paramadina University rector),Syafiq Basri (former Tempo reporter),Bima Arya Sugiarto (Paramadina University International Relations faculty),and Makarim Wibisono (former permanent representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations in Geneva) praised Supari for advocating on behalf of developing countries. Wibisono further elaborated that developing countries must organize to make the sample sharing process and GISN mechanism more transparent and equitable. -------------- -------------- Pandemic Simulations and Reporting Workshops Scheduled -------------- -------------- ¶10. (U) Part Two of the Bali pandemic simulation is scheduled for mid-December. CDC has also partnered with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),and the WHO on a pandemic early warning system workshop 27-30 October, location to be determined. ¶11. (SBU) On 26-28 August, APHIS hosted a workshop to improve coordination and communication between the government and the sector 1 poultry industry with the end goal of creating disease free farms and zones. Attendees included 46 participants from 12 poultry breeding companies and 40 government employees, including local officers from West Java province. The Minister of Agriculture (for political reasons) is pushing the team to have result - disease free zones/compartments - by the end of 2008. As an intermediate goal, the team will develop an assessment mechanism and train an assessment team. HUME