H1N1 Country Update

UNCLAS CAIRO 001216 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AIAG (AMBASSADOR LOTFIS AND DAVID WINN),NEA/ELA DEPT PASS TO AID (DENNIS CARROLL) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU KSTH PGOV EAGR CASC PREL EAID EG SUBJECT: H1N1 Country Update Sensitive but Unclassified. Please handle accordingly. 1.(U) Since the first H1N1 case was announced on June 2, when a 12 year old Egyptian-American girl arrived in country from the United States via the Netherlands, the Ministry of Health (MOH)has confirmed a total of 61 cases as of June 29. No H1N1 fatalities have occurred. ¶2. (U) Egyptian authorities continue to actively search for new H1N1 cases and have detected all infected individuals through thermal scans or contact cards filled out by incoming passengers at Egyptian airports. All positive cases are quarantined and referred to hospitals with dedicated H1N1 wards for treatment with the drug oseltamivir. Follow-up testing is performed on cases until there no evidence of viral shedding by laboratory tests. ¶3. (U) H1N1 accounts continue to dominate Egyptian media which run daily tallies of the total number of cases. Many portray newly reported cases - regardless of nationality - as having contracted the virus outside the country. One widely read and independent newspaper, Al Masry Al Youm (Today's Egypt),epitomizes this approach and has described the H1N1 cases as "all coming from abroad, especially from the United States." 4 (U) With Ramadan less than two months away, MOH officials continue to discourage Muslim pilgrims from traveling to Saudi Arabia because of the dangers posed by H1N1. The MOH then announced on June 25 that a 28 year old Egyptian man was infected with the virus; he acquired H1N1 during Umra (minor pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time of the year) in Saudi Arabia. However despite MOH warnings, Grand Mufti Sheikh Ali Gomaa, Egypt's top cleric, stated he would not issue a decree barring Egyptians from traveling to Mecca. MOH later announced that all returning pilgrims would be quarantined. ¶5. (SBU) In a conversation with Dr. Samir Abu-Zid, an epidemiologist and senior MOH official involved in disease surveillance issues, the Ministry is "controlling the virus as much as possible but transmission is inevitable." This comment reflects official views on H1N1. The Minister of Health Hatem el-Gabali stated two days ago it is "illogical to eliminate the disease" but Egypt can only hope to contain it. Dr. Abu-Zid also noted that while new cases contain both Egyptian and foreign visitors, many people acquired the virus outside the country before arriving in Egypt. Dr. Abu-Zid expressed confidence that at this point, hospitals possess the necessary capacity to handle H1N1 patients. Scobey