TFFLU01: H1N1 INFLUENZA OUTBREAK - CHINA SITREP # 6 -

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 001224 HHS FOR OGHA CDC ATLANTA FOR CCID, AND PASS TO FLU COX AND MOUNTS AND COGH BLOUNT AND KELLEY SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFLU AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO TBIO KSAF KPAO PREL PINR AMGT, MG, EAGR, HHS, TF, CH SUBJECT: TFFLU01: H1N1 INFLUENZA OUTBREAK - CHINA SITREP # 6 - THREE MORE AMCITS IN QUARANTINE REF: A) BEIJING 1210 B) BEIJING 1197 C) STATE 45269 D) BEIJING 1191 E) BEIJING 1171 F) HONG KONG 802 ¶1. (U) This cable corrects Beijing 1223. Please disregard Beijing ¶1223. AMERICANS IN QUARANTINE, QUARANTINE CHARGES, AND NOTIFICATION -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶1. (U) As of COB on May 7 Beijing Time, there are no confirmed cases of infection of humans or livestock by the A/H1N1 influenza virus on Mainland China. One case was confirmed in Hong Kong on May 1 (REF F). ¶2. (SBU) Post received word on May 7 of an additional three American citizens entering into quarantine at Ditan Hospital in Beijing. This brings the total number of current quarantine cases in Beijing (as well as countrywide) to four. --A family of three American citizens (50 year-old male, 42 year-old female, and 22 month-old child) arriving May 6 on United Airlines 581 from Philadelphia were placed into quarantine when thermal scanners registered a "high temperature" on the child. The family was moved to Ditan Hospital later in the evening. Hospital officials refused the family's request for help in contacting the Embassy. The father instead called Beijing ACS on the morning of May 7 using his own U.S. cell phone. Hospital staff has taken blood samples from the child and have taken swabs from all three. Post continues to be in contact with the family but has not yet received official notification from the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) of their status. --A 20 year-old male has been in quarantine in Beijing at Ditan Hospital since afternoon of Saturday May 2. Hospital officials informed Post on May 6 that his quarantine period will end on Monday May 11, not May 9, as he was originally told. ¶3. The American woman quarantined in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province was released on May 7. One other American--a long-term resident of Shanghai--was under medical observation in his home May 2 - May 7. ConGen Shanghai is in the process of making contact with both American citizens to confirm their release. ¶4. (SBU) Post received verbal notification from Beijing FAO on May 7 that patients under quarantine "should not" be billed for hotel or hospital treatment charges incurred during that period. However, Beijing FAO has not provided confirmation of this in writing. ¶5. (SBU) Beijing ACS Officer attended a consular meeting with representatives from Canada, Australia, Ireland, Singapore, India, United Kingdom, Mexico, New Zealand, Belgium, Germany, and Netherlands on May 7. The other foreign missions also reported inconsistent notification procedures and uneven treatment during the quarantine process, depending on location. In most instances, notification, if it has occurred, has been through provincial Foreign Affairs Offices. Those in quarantine either at hotels or hospitals report good treatment, and no one has been quarantined for longer than 7 days as of yet. Two foreign nationals in Beijing were presented with hospital bills, which are covered by insurance. No one has been asked to pay a hotel bill. ¶6. (SBU) In discussions with the Japanese Counselor of General Affairs on May 7, Post learned that it is the view of the Japanese Embassy that quarantine measures in China are "drastic" and the Japanese will protest if they begin to "restrict diplomatic authority." The Japanese Embassy's H1N1 response plan calls for drawing from internal supplies to provide antivirals 1) to diplomatic staff and families, 2) to local embassy staff (with a doctor's prescription),and 3) to the local Japanese population if BEIJING 00001224 002 OF 003 the medication becomes unavailable on the open market. (NOTE: The Japanese Embassy reports that as of October 2008, the number of Japanese citizens in Beijing was 10,768, and 125,928 China-wide. END NOTE). There currently are eight Japanese nationals in quarantine in Hong Kong, all of whom arrived on the same international flight. ¶7. (SBU) Post has received reports from area international schools that local health officials are now asking school administrators to begin a daily temperature monitoring program for testing students and staff, with a requirement that "high" temperatures be reported to authorities. On May 7 Post issued a management notice to the Embassy community alerting them to this development and urging parents not to send children to school if they register an above-normal temperature. TESTING AND TREATMENT -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Outbreak-associated H1N1 test kits and viral isolates from U.S. CDC were delayed earlier in the week due to the airline requesting additional information regarding the shipment. The shipment will now depart Atlanta on May 7 (Atlanta time) and are set to arrive in China May 8 (Beijing time). ¶9. (U) As reported by China Central Television (CCTV) Vice Minister of Health ZHANG Mao on May 6, China currently has 1.5 million courses of Tamiflu stockpiled and is working toward obtaining an additional 3 million courses. ¶10. (U) ConGen Guangzhou reports that Guangxi Provincial officials have taken steps to incorporate traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) into its local prevention and treatment plan for H1N1. According to new regulations, all medical taskforces (at the provincial, municipal, and township levels) are required to have at least one TCM doctor represented. ¶11. (SBU) The Chinese Red Cross Center notified Post on May 7 that, due to concerns about H1N1, a blood drive previously-scheduled to be held at the Embassy on May 21 would be cancelled. THERMAL IMAGING EQUIPMENT AND QUARANTINE PROCEDURES -------------- -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The following additional information is available in response to REF C, regarding equipment in use at Guangzhou's Baiyun Airport to monitor passengers for H1N1. --Infrared thermal imaging system: The GUIDIR IR236, a fixed-position infrared system. This system is domestically manufactured by Wuhan Guide Infrared Technology Company, Ltd. --Portable, hand-held infrared thermometers: The Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer (US company); the CEM DT-8861 Compact InfraRed Thermometer (Chinese company); and the Testo 826-72 (German company). ¶13. (U) The following measures have been put into place to safeguard vessel transportation between Mawei, Fujian and Matsu Islands, Taiwan: --Temperature checks will be taken for passengers aboard the vessels. Matsu Island travel agencies will inform shipping agents of test results prior to the vessel's departure from Matsu's Fu'ao port; Fujian's CIQ will also be informed of the test results; --The ship's operator will report any passenger suspected of having H1N1 symptoms to the Fujian CIQ; and BEIJING 00001224 003 OF 003 --Infrared thermometers will be used to test passengers' temperatures at Fujian's Mawei Port CHINESE CHARTER FLIGHT ARRIVES FROM MEXICO -------------- ¶14. (U) Local press reported that the China Southern chartered flight that picked up 19 passengers in Tijuana and 79 passengers in Mexico City arrived in Shanghai Pudong at 4:32 pm May 6 local time. The 98 passengers from 15 provinces from China underwent temperature checks, all of which tested "normal." The flight's twenty crew members also underwent temperature checks. All will remain under medical observation at a hotel in Shanghai for the next seven days. INTEREST IN H1N1 EBBS AMONG CHINESE PUBLIC -------------- ¶15. (U) Based on analysis through internet diagnostic tool Google Trends, daily Chinese-language searches on Google.cn for key terms like "H1N1" and "Zhu Liugan" (common term for H1N1 in Chinese)have declined in recent days by about 50 percent from a peak on May 1. PICCUTA