Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CAIRO1216
2009-06-29 13:58:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Cairo
Cable title:  

H1N1 Country Update

Tags:  TBIO KFLU KSTH PGOV EAGR CASC PREL EAID EG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1432
PP RUEHAST RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM
RUEHTRO
DE RUEHEG #1216 1801358
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291358Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3023
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA PRIORITY
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.
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