H1N1 UPDATE: 17,790 CONFIRMED CASES

UNCLAS BERLIN 001115 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/CE PETER SCHROEDER STATE FOR OES/IHB STATE FOR AID/GH/HIDN USDA PASS TO APHIS HHS PASS TO CDC HHS FOR OGHA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU ECON PREL SOCI CASC GM SUBJECT: H1N1 UPDATE: 17,790 CONFIRMED CASES REF: A) Berlin 1111, B) Berlin 1096 and previous. ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The number of confirmed H1N1 infections in Germany rose by 146 cases to 17,790 on September 10. Munich International School confirms case(s) of H1N1. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) At its September 10 press briefing, the National Reference Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) confirmed a total of 146 new (laboratory and non- laboratory) H1N1 cases in Germany over yesterday, increasing the total number of H1N1 cases to 17,790. New cases were distributed among all ten federal states as follows: North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) (41),Baden-Wuerttemberg (34),Saxony (21),Lower-Saxony (16),Schleswig-Holstein (10),Rhineland- Palatinate (8),Saarland (6),Saxony-Anhalt (5),Hesse (4) and Thuringia (1). ¶3. (U) According to RKI, 56 of the total 146 new cases are attributed to people returning from travel abroad. New cases include non-laboratory H1N1 cases that exhibited symptoms after being in contact with a laboratory-confirmed infected person. ¶4. (U) NRW remains the German state with the highest number of confirmed virus cases with a total of 5,429, followed by Baden-Wuerttemberg (2,732 cases) and Lower-Saxony (2,572). The number of all confirmed infections in Germany that have resulted from domestic transmission increased to 27 percent. School class in Berlin infected with H1N1 -------------- ¶5. (U) Shortly after the beginning of the new school year, first graders at the Cecilien elementary school in Berlin- Wilmersdorf were sent home after students had shown flu-like symptoms and three tested positive for the new virus. It remains to be seen how long the students will be absent from school. "It takes usually seven days to get over the virus", said a spokesperson from the Berlin Senate for Health. Confirmed case of H1N1 at Munich International School -------------- -- ¶6. (U) On September 9, Munich International School (MIS) confirmed the first case of H1N1. MIS is the main school for USG dependents at Munich, along with Bavarian International. As per school protocol, infected students will remain off campus until they have been given clearance from their doctors to return. The school is in communication with local health authorities and at this point in time they recommend that MIS continues to operate school as normal with heightened awareness to best hygienic practices. MURPHY