TURKMENISTAN: REPORTS OF DEATHS CAUSED BY FLU

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001391 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN; MED E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2019 TAGS: AMED KFLU PGOV SOCI TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: REPORTS OF DEATHS CAUSED BY FLU REF: ASHGABAT 1370 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia Reed Curran. Reasons 1.4 (B) a nd (D). ¶1. (SBU) Cases of the flu, probably H1N1, are still widespread in Turkmenistan and Embassy local employees have heard about several deaths. A lawyer from the local government of the area where many embassy employees live, who was reportedly around 30 years old, died the last week in October. In addition, the 17 year-old neighbor of a local employee died from the flu, and there are reports of deaths of other children, including one who attended the Turkish-Turkmen school. ¶2. (SBU) Lines at hospitals and pharmacies are unusually long, even late at night, and ambulances are reportedly receiving twice the usual number of calls. On the positive side, pharmacies are now stocking face masks, and there are no reports of any pharmacies running out of supplies of medicine. ¶3. (C) The flu also seems to be making the rounds of the diplomatic community. The Uzbek defense attach missed some of the Turkmen Independence Day events because he was sick, and a Turkish diplomat left the Turkish national day celebration on October 29 early because she was unwell. Even among the diplomatic community, information about how to treat or prevent the spread of the disease is limited. DATT overheard someone telling the sick Turkish diplomat that what she really needed was hot soup. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The Turkmen Government's unwillingness to publish information about H1N1 is one of the major complicating factors for the citizens trying to cope. Conversations with local employees show that they can receive either useful information or terrible information, depending on the doctor who treats them. One employee said that the school her son attended was requiring sick children to have a doctor's note saying they are healthy before they could return to class. But other employees have said that their local schools are not providing any information, not even telling children to stay home if they are feeling sick. END COMMENT. CURRAN