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