SLOVAK HEALTH OFFICIALS CRITICAL OF H1N1 PRESS COVERAGE (125

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000395 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU AMED ASEC KPAO LO SUBJECT: SLOVAK HEALTH OFFICIALS CRITICAL OF H1N1 PRESS COVERAGE (125 CASES, NO DEATHS) ¶1. (SBU) We have heard a number of comments from high-level Ministry of Health (MOH) officials criticizing local press coverage of the H1N1 swine flu virus. Eleonora Branska, Director General in the Department of International Relations at the Ministry of Health, privately expressed her feelings that the press was becoming overly aggressive and fanning public worries. At the national Public Health Authority (PHA),Sarka Kovacsova, Department of International Relations, and Jan Mikas, Head of the Department of Epidemiology, expressed confidence in Slovakia's flu preparations as well as expressing similar concerns about the press. To date, the PHA reports 125 confirmed cases of the swine flu and no deaths. ¶2. (SBU) MOH officials appear particularly sensitive to coverage comparing plans for GOS vaccine stockpiles with those of other countries. Citing a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation that countries have vaccine doses covering 20 percent of their population, the Slovak State Material Reserves Administration (SSHR) is working toward a vaccine stockpile of one million doses, including 700,000 packages of Tamiflu and 1,000 packages of Tamiflu Dry Syrup targeted for first responders and vulnerable populations. Press coverage has cited plans for higher vaccine per capita stockpiles in neighboring countries, including the Czech Republic. At the peak of the initial H1N1 scare, MOH and PHA attempted to tamp down public worries by arguing that Slovakia was not experiencing a pandemic rate of H1N1 infection and pointed to a low 7 percent vaccination rate against common influenza as a larger concern. ¶3. (SBU) In concert with the assistance of the WHO Country Director in Slovakia, the GOS developed a national legal framework for responding to a pandemic influenza outbreak in ¶2005. The national plan has lain relatively dormant until the onset of the latest swine flu worries, and MoH officials acknowledge the need for updates. ¶4. (SBU) Responding to this need, we have sought out ways to influence key MOH decision-makers who could benefit from exposure to the U.S. system of preparation for pandemic influenza. We thank the International Visitor program and the special, end-of-year funding allowing for the timely participation of Dr. Adriana Liptakova in the program entitled "Public Safety: Preparing for Potential Pandemic Disease." Dr. Liptakova, Chief State Counselor and the Director of the Health Care Department, is a critical decision-maker at the MOH. Still in the U.S. participating in the program, Dr. Liptakova has already indicated her desire to accelerate GOS preparations and change the defensive posture taken by the MOH. EDDINS