QATAR CONFIRMS SECOND H1N1 DEATH: VICTIM ACTIVE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L DOHA 000572 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2019 TAGS: PREL PINR KFLU AEMR AMED ASEC CASC KFLO TBIO KSAF, KPAO, AMGT, MG, QA SUBJECT: QATAR CONFIRMS SECOND H1N1 DEATH: VICTIM ACTIVE IN LABOR CAMPS Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b and d). -------------- (C) KEY POINTS -------------- -- On September 12, the Supreme Council for Health announced the second death in Qatar from the H1N1 virus. -- The victim was a 40 year-old Nepalese citizen who worked at the Qatar Guests Center doing Islamic outreach to Nepalese workers. He was reported to have worked extensively in the labor camps housing those workers. -- Dr. Husam Rezeq, Head of Communicable Disease Control and Vaccination at the Ministry of Health, told Emboff on September 15 that the victim went to the hospital after having suffered symptoms for five days and died the following day. He was not known be suffering from any chronic disease. -- Dr. Rezeq said that the number of H1N1 cases in the labor camps has been, thus far, "very few." This statement could not be independently corroborated by the Nepalese Embassy. -------------- (C) COMMENT -------------- -- Officials estimate the number of expatriate Nepalese workers in Qatar at 300,000, making it the second largest group of foreign workers. They typically work in construction and live in crowded and unsanitary conditions at labor camps near Doha. While according to officials there have been few cases thus far, any outbreak in the camps would have the potential to spread quickly. End Key Points and Comments. ¶1. (C) The Supreme Council for Health (SCH) announced on September 12 that a second death had occurred as the result of the H1N1 virus. Dr. Husam Rezeq, Head of Communicable Disease Control and Vaccination at the Ministry of Health, told Emboff on September 15 that the victim, a 40 year-old Nepalese citizen, went to the emergency room at Al Khor hospital after suffering from flu-like symptoms for five days. He was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and placed in the intensive care unit, but died the following day. Dr. Rezeq said that the victim was not known to be suffering from any chronic disease. ¶2. (C) Press reports said that the victim had been an employee of the Qatar Guests Center doing Islamic outreach to the large Nepalese expatriate community in Qatar. They said that he had been active in the labor camps near Doha and that his contact with others was "continuous and direct." This was confirmed by Dr. Rezeq, who said that the victim delivered lectures on Islam to residents of the camps. ¶3. When asked whether the Ministry of Health had seen any surge in the number of H1N1 in the labor camps, Dr. Rezeq replied that, so far, the number of H1N1 cases in the labor camps had been "very few." When contacted by Poloff Caudill on September 15, the labor officer at the Nepalese Embassy was unable to corroborate that statement, based upon his limited information about the situation in the camps. LeBaron