DATA COLLECTION OF NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS RE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WELLINGTON 000229

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE PASS TO DEPT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AR AS BC BL BR CI EC FJ ID NZ PA PE PGOV PREL SF
SOCI, TBIO, UY, WA
SUBJECT: DATA COLLECTION OF NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS RE
H1N1

REF: A: 09 STATE 73971; B: 09 WELLINGTON 213; C: 09 WELLINGTON 177

1) (SBU) The Government of New Zealand (GNZ) has responded to
H1N1 Influenza A aggressively since the virus was first detected
here in April 2009 as reported by Post SitReps, cables (see reftel
B and C) and emails since late April. GNZ's initial intervention
program was a comprehensive containment policy that sought to delay
community transmission for as long as possible. Containment seemed
to delay community transmission from taking root until late June.

2) (U) The following is a list of public health interventions
instituted by the Government and public health authorities as a
part of the Containment Strategy in place since April 2009 (reftel
C).

* The NZ Ministry of Health (MoH) warned citizens and
visitors to take standard flu season precautions back in April to
prevent the spread of the virus. This included precautions to stay
at least a meter distant from those exhibiting symptoms, wash hands
regularly and cover coughs. Persons who suspected that they had
H1N1 were asked to stay at home and call a doctor instead of
visiting an office where other people might become infected.
Government workers were advised to practice 'social distance' to
avoid spreading illness.

* MoH instituted a robust border check program where all
inbound visitors and citizens were informed of H1N1 and its
symptoms. Visitors and citizens were required to fill out locator
forms in case they were later determined to be at risk of having
the virus due to contact with other confirmed cases. In the
meantime, all suspected cases were swabbed and tested, at ports of
entry and at clinics and hospitals.

* All suspected and confirmed cases, as well as those in
close contact with confirmed cases were immediately asked to
self-isolate (the Government assisted visitors to NZ with this by
providing for hotel rooms at the expense of the Crown),and were
provided with a course of Tamiflu free of charge. These cases were
visited by a health official when possible to follow up. All
confirmed cases until late June were clearly connected with
international travel.

* Vaccination for seasonal Influenza was urged by the
government to reduce strain on the healthcare system. The shot was
made free to all NZ citizens to encourage vaccination in late June.

* School closures had been under discussion since April
when the first cases NZ were detected in a group of students
returning from Mexico. There have been no full school closures to
date, although a few schools have requested that whole classes stay
at home for a week.

* In reaction to the continuing spread of the virus, H1N1
Influenza A was made a notifiable disease on June 8, 2009.

3) (U) After sustained community transmission was detected and
H1N1 was not as severe as previously feared, MoH moved on from
Containment to Management of the pandemic. Management consists of
focused care on those who are at high risk of severe illness
resulting from H1N1, requesting the population self-treat what will
be a mostly mild to moderate illness, and boosting resources to
regional health authorities. Tamiflu is still available at
pharmacies to those in the general public that exhibit flu-like

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symptoms for around NZ$75. The retroviral drug is no longer being
freely distributed to all suspected and confirmed cases. This is
the response strategy currently in place as H1N1 makes its way
through the population, and supersedes Containment protocols in
terms of Tamiflu distribution and swabbing for tests.

4) (U) In 2006, the NZ Treasury modeled the economic impact of a
'mild' influenza pandemic on the economy at 0.7 percent of GDP.
In a July 3 2009 paper, the NZ Treasury revised its projection and
stated that the impact from the current influence is likely to be
"much less than the lower bound of 0.7 percent of GDP as modeled in
the 2006 Treasury paper". Current NZ GDP is NZD 132 billion.

5) (SBU) Comment. NZ's containment strategy is only possible
because there are very few ports of entry into the country to
screen, and because the population is relatively small. The NZ
public has mostly heeded advice from the government to contain H1N1
transmission. This has likely assisted in delaying sustained
community transmission of H1N1 until June. As noted in reftel B,
GNZ has made efficient use of available resources to combat the
spread of the virus by actively informing the general population
with key advice, focusing resources on those that are likely to
become severely ill and managing the load on the national
healthcare system by encouraging vaccination for seasonal flu.
Some health districts are concerned about heavy demand pushing
hospital resources to the limit, but there have been no reported
problems as of yet. GNZ's task has been made far easier by the
small size of the NZ general population and the ability of the
Government to react quickly. End comment.
WALSH