GERMANY H1N1 FLU UPDATE: 278 CONFIRMED CASES

UNCLAS BERLIN 000747 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: 278 CONFIRMED CASES REF: A) Berlin 744, B) Berlin 735 and previous. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The number of H1N1 cases in Germany rose to 278 on June 22, as twenty-seven new infections were confirmed. The fourth H1N1 infection in Berlin was confirmed over the weekend. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On June 22, the National Reference Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced in its press briefing 27 new laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 for Germany. This increases the total number of confirmed cases in Germany to 278 (Refs A, B and previous). The new cases were distributed among the federal states as follows: North Rhine-Westphalia (11),Baden-Wuerttemberg (5),Lower Saxony (4),Bavaria (3),Thuringia (2),Saxony (1),and Berlin (1). Fourth Confirmed Case in Berlin -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On June 22, RKI confirmed one additional case of H1N1 in Berlin, raising the total number of confirmed infections in the city to four. According to the media, a 36-year old female tested positive for the virus. She reportedly had not traveled outside the country recently. Media reports indicate that the woman showed light flu symptoms and has been put under quarantine at home. North Rhine-Westphalia shows further hike in infections -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Eleven of the 27 newly confirmed cases reported today occurred in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). NRW remains the state showing the highest number of infections among all the German states with 133 confirmed cases, followed by Bavaria (39 cases) and Baden-Wuerttemberg (31 cases). The Federal State of Saarland remains the only state without confirmed virus cases. The number of confirmed infections resulting from domestic transmission of the virus now sits at 140. ¶5. (SBU) Health officials of NRW told CONS Duesseldorf that the new cases reported in NRW include at least three high school students in Cologne and Bergisch-Gladbach and two grade school students in Leverkusen. The Japanese school in Duesseldorf that was closed two weeks ago due to confirmed H1N1 cases among its students will remain closed for today, but is expected to reopen tomorrow. KOENIG