AVIAN INFLUENZA DETECTED IN EAST CHINA: 377,000 CHICKENS

UNCLAS SHANGHAI 000556 SENSITIVE SIPDIS USDA FOR DLP AND FAS/OCRA/CHINA HHS FOR OGHA/STEIGER CDC ATLANTA FOR CCID AND COGH STATE FOR EAP/CM, OES/IHA, AIAG, CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, AND MED E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR KFLU TBIO PINR AMED SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA DETECTED IN EAST CHINA: 377,000 CHICKENS CULLED This message is Sensitive But Unclassified and for official use only. Not for distribution outside of U.S. Government channels or via the internet. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Following the discovery of the H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus in Dongtai and Haian, Jiangsu province, authorities have culled 377,000 chickens. Preliminary analysis indicates that the virus could have been spread by migratory birds and that it is a different variety than that which is usually found in southern China. Authorities have implemented measures to prevent the spread of the virus. The Japanese Consulate has expressed concerns over a possible widespread outbreak. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Reports indicate that routine testing has showed a presence of the H5N1 Avian Influenza (AI) virus in farms in Haian County and Dongtai city, both in Jiangsu province (approximately 200 miles northwest of Shanghai). As a result, Jiangsu officials have culled 377,000 chickens. At present, there have been no reports of human cases of AI. ¶3. (U) According to a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture, Jiangsu veterinary authorities reported the incident on December 15, and the Ministry has notified the World Animal Health Organization (OIE). Preliminary analysis by ministry experts have indicated that the virus could have been spread by migratory birds passing through the area and that it was a different variety that that which was usually found in southern China. The statement claimed that based on mandatory AI inspections, the immunity to AI of Jiangsu's animal population is 89 percent, higher than 70 percent national standard. The statement also said that Jiangsu authorities have stopped the transport of all poultry and poultry products from the two areas and were sterilizing the poultry farms in those locations and nearby regions to prevent the spread of the virus. ¶4. (SBU) The Consulate attempted to get further information from authorities in the Jiangsu Health Bureau, Provincial Center for Disease Control, and the Provincial Agriculture Bureau. Contacts were unavailable for comment or were unaware of the report of the outbreak. We have also attempted to contact Shanghai health officials for their comment, but have not received any response. Post will continue to follow-up for additional information. ¶5. (SBU) At a December 17 lunch with the Consul General, the Japanese Consul General in Shanghai Yutaka Yokoi, citing reports of the AI outbreak in Jiangsu, raised the issue. He said he would be speaking with members of the local Japanese community to ask any of those with concerns over a possible AI outbreak to consider returning to Japan sooner rather than later. Yokoi indicated he was worried because it was not possible to predict whether or when AI would begin to spread among humans. Once an outbreak was confirmed it was already too late. The Japanese Consulate General, he stressed, was not prepared to handle a mass exodus of Japanese nationals in such an event. The U.S. Consulate's nurse also reported that her counterpart in the Japanese Consulate showed unusual alarm over AI. ¶6. (U) In December 2007, Jiangsu authorities reported the death of a twenty-four year old male due to the H5N1 AI virus. That was the first such report of any Avian Influenza incident in Jiangsu province. According to media reports, this week's AI incident was the first such public report from China since June ¶2008. CAMP