POST MEETING ON H1N1 READINESS

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000938 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFLU TBIO EAGR AMGT CASC PK SUBJECT: POST MEETING ON H1N1 READINESS ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Post held a meeting of the H5N1 Avian Influenza Committee to assess Embassy readiness should the H1N1 Swine-Origin Influenza Virus(S-OIV) spread to Pakistan. The committee reviewed supplies and tripwires as well as discussed various scenarios and plans for locally engaged staff (LES) and local guards. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) The H5N1 Avian Influenza Committee met to discuss the preparedness of Post should the H1N1 virus reach Pakistan. In attendance were representatives from RMO, MGMT, RSO, RAO and ECON. RMO began the meeting by listing all of Post's supplies: Islamabad has in its inventory six hundred (600) courses of antiviral medications; Lahore and Peshawar each have sixty (60) immediately-available courses; and Karachi has one hundred twenty (120) courses immediately available. RMO also explained that both the Embassy and Consulates also have personal protection equipment (PPE),such as protective masks, gowns, and hand sanitizer, readily available. ¶3. (SBU) Post will be using similar tripwires as we would use under an H5N1 outbreak though we recognize that there are differences, including confirmed cases of human to human transfer of H1N1. ¶4. (SBU) The committee discussed several precautions should H1N1 extend to Pakistan. For example, we have made preparations for Post expeditors at international airports to facilitate USG employees arriving in Pakistan should they be screened for communicable diseases. Should H1N1 spread to the Embassy/Consulate, Post will ask for volunteers to become primary caregivers, which will help to free up the Health Unit staff to attend to the rest of the Mission. ¶5. (SBU) Caregivers will be given medication and PPE to provide some measure of protection. In the case of LES infection, the LES will designate one person of his/her choice to be the primary caregiver, and Post will provide medications and PPE to these individuals as well. Post will test anyone with flu symptoms and require anyone who exhibits symptoms to stay home for 7 days until after the fever breaks to return to work, as per the current Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations. Post will send test samples to Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) in Bangkok as Pakistani laboratories are unable to accurately identify H1N1 with their existing technologies. Post is drafting a management notice for distribution to all employees which will provide guidance on how to deal with any suspected H1N1 cases. FEIERSTEIN