H1N1 UPDATE: 3,349 CONFIRMED CASES

UNCLAS BERLIN 000899 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: H1N1 UPDATE: 3,349 CONFIRMED CASES REF: A) Berlin 894, B) Berlin 889 and previous. ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The net number of H1N1 infections in Germany rose by 505 cases to a total of 3,349 on July 27. The majority of new infections occurred abroad, mainly during travel to Spain. Germany considers cancelling mass gatherings to stem an outbreak. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) At its July 27 press briefing, the National Reference Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced 511 new (laboratory and non-laboratory) confirmed cases of H1N1 and subtracted six previously confirmed cases in Berlin. This net increase of 505 cases brings the total to 3,349. New cases were distributed among the federal states: Berlin (-6),North Rhine-Westphalia (245),Baden-Wuerttemberg (72),Schleswig-Holstein (56),Hesse (39),Rhineland- Palatinate (36),Bavaria (33),Saxony-Anhalt (16),Thuringia (5),Bremen (4),Brandenburg (3),and Hamburg (2). ¶3. (U) According to RKI, the increase in the number of infections is mainly due to people returning from travel abroad (420 new cases),with most of them reportedly infected while in Spain. Newly confirmed cases include laboratory- confirmed cases of H1N1 as well as non-laboratory-confirmed cases, mainly from poeple who have showed symptoms after being in contact with a patient who has been tested positive at a labor for the new virus. ¶4. (U) North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) remains the German state with the highest number of virus cases among all German states with a total of 1209 (36 percent of German cases),followed by Lower-Saxony (681) and Baden-Wuerttemberg (344 cases). Less than 25 percent (802) of all confirmed infections in Germany have resulted from domestic transmission. Mass Events Affected by New Flu? -------------- ¶5. (U) Theo Schroeder, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of HEALTH told media over the week end that Germany will consider cancelling mass gatherings to stem a H1N1 outbreak if the virus continuous to spread further. RKI predicts the virus could infect ONE in three people by fall. However, Joerg Hacker, president of RKI said that there is currently no need to panic nor to shut down big events to prevent transmission, arguing that the majority of newly confirmed cases involve people returning from travel abroad. He added that ONE week of quarantine at home is currently sufficient to stop a spread in cases that show a mild course of the virus. BRADTKE