Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09JERUSALEM1004
2009-06-15 14:30:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Jerusalem
Cable title:
TWO H1N1 CASES CONFIRMED IN THE WEST BANK
how-toVZCZCXYZ0024 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHJM #1004 1661430 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 151430Z JUN 09 FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5137 INFO RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 4804 RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 8614
UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001004
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
NEA FOR NEA/IPA; OES/IB FOR WINN; DEPT PASS TO USAID FOR
ANE/MEA:MCCLOUD/BORODIN; DEPT PASS TO USDA; HHS FOR CDC AND
OGHA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KFLU SENV ECON EAGR EAID KWBG IS
SUBJECT: TWO H1N1 CASES CONFIRMED IN THE WEST BANK
UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001004
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
NEA FOR NEA/IPA; OES/IB FOR WINN; DEPT PASS TO USAID FOR
ANE/MEA:MCCLOUD/BORODIN; DEPT PASS TO USDA; HHS FOR CDC AND
OGHA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KFLU SENV ECON EAGR EAID KWBG IS
SUBJECT: TWO H1N1 CASES CONFIRMED IN THE WEST BANK
1. (SBU) Summary: Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministry of
Health officials have confirmed two cases of H1N1 in the West
Bank (Bethlehem). A four-year-old girl was diagnosed on June
10, and her mother on June 13. Both cases were characterized
as "mild," and the patients are expected to recover fully,
according to WHO contacts. The Ministry of Health expects an
increase in the number of cases as summer travel picks up.
End Summary.
2. (SBU) Dr. Assad Ramlavi, General Director of Primary
Health Care and Public Health in the PA Ministry of Health,
confirmed to Econoff on June 15 that a four-year-old girl and
her mother in Bethlehem have been diagnosed with H1N1. The
child reportedly developed a fever after returning from
Texas, and was diagnosed on June 10.
3. (SBU) The confirmation was made as part of a coordinated
process with the GOI, according to WHO Public Health Officer
Katija Schemionek. First, the girl was admitted into Caritas
hospital in Bethlehem, and a "nasal-pharynx" swab was taken
and sent to a hospital in Ramallah. The Ramallah hospital
confirmed the "H1" portion of the diagnosis, and then in
coordination with the GOI MoH, the sample was sent to a lab
in Tel Aviv, where the final confirmation was made. The
mother's case was confirmed in the hospital lab in Ramallah
on June 13. WHO contacts characterized the coordination
between the PA and GOI Health Ministries as "excellent" on
epidemics and related technical issues.
4. (SBU) Both the child and her mother are being treated with
Tamiflu, according to Dr. Ramlavi. He said that although
they are not officially "quarantined," they are not leaving
the home in Bethlehem, are wearing masks, and health workers
in Bethlehem monitor their situation daily. Another relative
who lives in the house displayed flu-like symptoms, but
tested negative for H1N1 on June 14. Dr. Ramlavi noted that
hospitals in the West Bank are seeing an increasing number of
suspected cases, and he expects the number of real cases to
rise as the summer travel season continues.
WALLES
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
NEA FOR NEA/IPA; OES/IB FOR WINN; DEPT PASS TO USAID FOR
ANE/MEA:MCCLOUD/BORODIN; DEPT PASS TO USDA; HHS FOR CDC AND
OGHA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KFLU SENV ECON EAGR EAID KWBG IS
SUBJECT: TWO H1N1 CASES CONFIRMED IN THE WEST BANK
1. (SBU) Summary: Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministry of
Health officials have confirmed two cases of H1N1 in the West
Bank (Bethlehem). A four-year-old girl was diagnosed on June
10, and her mother on June 13. Both cases were characterized
as "mild," and the patients are expected to recover fully,
according to WHO contacts. The Ministry of Health expects an
increase in the number of cases as summer travel picks up.
End Summary.
2. (SBU) Dr. Assad Ramlavi, General Director of Primary
Health Care and Public Health in the PA Ministry of Health,
confirmed to Econoff on June 15 that a four-year-old girl and
her mother in Bethlehem have been diagnosed with H1N1. The
child reportedly developed a fever after returning from
Texas, and was diagnosed on June 10.
3. (SBU) The confirmation was made as part of a coordinated
process with the GOI, according to WHO Public Health Officer
Katija Schemionek. First, the girl was admitted into Caritas
hospital in Bethlehem, and a "nasal-pharynx" swab was taken
and sent to a hospital in Ramallah. The Ramallah hospital
confirmed the "H1" portion of the diagnosis, and then in
coordination with the GOI MoH, the sample was sent to a lab
in Tel Aviv, where the final confirmation was made. The
mother's case was confirmed in the hospital lab in Ramallah
on June 13. WHO contacts characterized the coordination
between the PA and GOI Health Ministries as "excellent" on
epidemics and related technical issues.
4. (SBU) Both the child and her mother are being treated with
Tamiflu, according to Dr. Ramlavi. He said that although
they are not officially "quarantined," they are not leaving
the home in Bethlehem, are wearing masks, and health workers
in Bethlehem monitor their situation daily. Another relative
who lives in the house displayed flu-like symptoms, but
tested negative for H1N1 on June 14. Dr. Ramlavi noted that
hospitals in the West Bank are seeing an increasing number of
suspected cases, and he expects the number of real cases to
rise as the summer travel season continues.
WALLES