GERMANY H1N1 FLU UPDATE: 8 CONFIRMED, FIRST HUMAN-TO-

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 000512 SENSITIVE 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 EAGR MX GM SUBJECT: GERMANY H1N1 FLU UPDATE: 8 CONFIRMED, FIRST HUMAN-TO- HUMAN INFECTION REF: A) Berlin 488, B) Berlin 495, C) SECSTATE 44808 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) confirmed five new cases of A/H1N1 Influenza in Germany over the weekend, increasing the total number of confirmed cases to eight. One man from Bavaria and a couple from Brandenburg tested positive for H1N1 after returning from Mexico with flu- like symptoms. Local media also reported Germany's first human-to-human infection of H1N1. A nurse and a fellow patient from Bavaria (neither of whom had been to Mexico) had become infected with the A/H1N1 virus after having contact with a patient hospitalized and confirmed to have H1N1 last week. The German government added H1N1 to its list of mandatory illnesses that doctors must report to health authorities if they suspect a patient to be infected. END SUMMARY. New Cases of H1N1 -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In addition to the three confirmed H1N1 cases reported in Ref B, German health authorities have confirmed five additional cases of H1N1 -- increasing the country's total number to eight. Health authorities are monitoring thirty suspicious cases. ¶3. (SBU) One young man from Bavaria and a couple from Brandenburg tested positive for H1N1 after returning from Mexico with flu-like symptoms. No further details were given about the man. The couple from Brandenburg -- a 54 year old woman and her 58 year old husband -- was on the same flight as a 20 year old female from Hamburg who tested positive for H1N1 and was hospitalized last week (Ref B). It is not clear if the couple was exposed to the virus in Mexico or if they contracted it during the flight, though media report that hospital officials suspect that the wife was infected first through contact with the female from Hamburg and later infected her husband. Health officials said that in the case of the couple the course of disease is mild and that patients are recovering quickly. Human-to-Human Infection -------------- ¶4. (SBU) German health authorities have confirmed the first human-to-human transmission of the virus in Germany. Bavarian Health Ministry officials reported on April 30 that a 42 year old nurse had been infected with the virus, but had not been in Mexico. The woman was a nurse treating a 37 year old Bavarian patient already known to have the virus (Ref B). The woman has already recovered, according to the Bavarian Health Ministry. The same infected patient also passed the virus on to a 38 year old Bavarian fellow patient, whom health authorities confirmed had the virus on May 1, despite not having traveled to Mexico. Health officials also suspect that Germany's earliest confirmed case, a woman from Hamburg, passed the virus on to another woman, who later infected her husband, though this has not been confirmed. German Reactions -------------- ¶5. (U) Media report that German air carrier Lufthansa, which flies to and from Mexico daily, has placed a staff physician on every flight there to answer passenger questions and identify flu symptoms in flight. Reported Tamiflu Shortage -------------- BERLIN 00000512 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) German weekly Der Spiegel reported that several German states ("Laender") do not hold sufficient stocks of Tamiflu (See also Ref C). Contacts at the Health Ministry informed post that the majority of the states had at least enough Tamiflu to treat twenty percent of their populations, in accordance with guidance from WHO and RKI. The states not holding enough Tamiflu to cover twenty percent of their populations have ordered additional stocks of antiviral drugs. Mandatory Reporting to Health Authorities -------------- ¶7. (SBU) On Sunday, Germany added H1N1 to its list of illnesses requiring mandatory reporting by doctors to health authorities if they suspect a patient to be infected. Others on the list include botulism, cholera, diphtheria, and rabies. Before this action, doctors were only required to report suspected H1N1 cases to the laboratories; now they must report suspicious cases directly to the health authorities. KOENIG