VZCZCXRO3193
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHKU #0478/01 1221554
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011554Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1321
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1098
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 1947

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000478 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AIAG, NEA/ARP, NEA/RA; MED FOR AMCFADDEN, CAIRO 
FOR LINDA LOGAN; AMMAN FOR MANU BHALLA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMED CASC KFLU TBIO KU
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE: MOH OFFICIAL PRESENTS GOK 
AI PLAN TO EMBASSY AIWG 
 
REF: REFTEL PREVIOUS REPORTING 
 
¶1. Summary:  Embassy Kuwait held its monthly Avian Influenza 
Working Group (AIWG) meeting on April 29.  Members of the 
U.S. military medical team - from Army Central Command, 386 
Air Expeditionary Wing and Office of Military Cooperation - 
various Embassy section heads and the Embassy medical unit 
attended the session.  The high point was a presentation by 
the Ministry of Health's Director of Communicable Disease 
Control Dr. Musaab Al-Saleh concerning the GOK's Pandemic 
Influenza Plan.  This comprehensive presentation highlighted 
lessons learned from the 2006 Avian Influenza (AI) outbreak 
and steps taken to coordinate efforts to manage a future 
outbreak.  Dr. Musaab informed the group about Kuwait's 
vaccine reserves; laboratory, hospital and quarantine 
capacity; and coordination plan between various GOK 
ministries to manage essential services during an outbreak. 
He also highlighted the GOK's coordination with international 
organizations like the CDC, WHO, and FAO; and cooperation 
with the GCC.  End Summary. 
 
Lessons Learned from 2006 
------------------------- 
¶2.  Dr. Musaab admitted that although Kuwait responded 
quickly and contained the outbreak effectively in 2006, 
several areas of weakness were identified as a result of the 
outbreak.  More than two million birds were culled during the 
outbreak in 43 areas of the country.  Eleven hundred human 
cases were investigated but all were found to be negative for 
AI.  Coordination with the Ministry of Interior and 
Municipality was critical in identifying and culling infected 
birds and in reducing the smuggling of birds across the 
border.  Some of the lessons learned were that the GOK needs 
to make a more concerted effort to manage public awareness 
and panic; needs better coordination among various sectors of 
government and between the public and private sector; needs 
more expertise in identifying the source of infection and in 
evaluating the impact of migratory birds; needs better 
coordination at the borders to minimize smuggling; need to 
exchange experiences with other countries; and most 
importantly, needs to create an adequate compensation 
evaluation methodology for local farmers. 
 
GOK AI Plan 
----------- 
¶3.  After the 2006 outbreak, GOK developed its new AI plan 
with the following objectives: early detection, decrease 
influenza morbidity and mortality, estimate realistic budget 
needed, maintain continuity of essential services and 
minimize social disruptions and economic loss.  A 
comprehensive list of Ministries and private sector entities 
is included in the plan, including the Ministries of Health, 
Defense, Information, Interior, Finance, and Commerce and 
Industry along with the Environmental Health Agency, Customs 
Division and Private Healthcare partners.  Ports and border 
control, and early detention and reporting, are the key 
components of the GOK plan in the pre-outbreak stage. 
 
¶4.  As part of its vaccination and medication plan, the GOK 
has stockpiled more than 10 million doses of antiviral 
medication, which include Tamiflu and Relenza.  In addition, 
GOK contributes to the GCC project to collect additional 10 
million doses of the antiviral medication for poorer 
countries in the region.  GCC offices in Saudi Arabia have 
collected 2.5 million doses thus far.  Dr. Musaab added that 
the GCC anticipates using this stock to manage an outbreak in 
Yemen.  In addition to the GCC stock, GCC countries are 
coordinating to negotiate medicine prices and services.  He 
added that Iraq has not been in the calculation in the past, 
but they hope to include Iraq in the next GCC meeting on 
Avian Influenza. 
 
¶5.  The GOK's plan identifies priority groups for antiviral 
use such as health care workers, essential services 
providers, and public safety workers.  It also includes a 
plan for triage and admission, treatment protocols and 
discharge.  As part of its vaccination initiative, GOK has 
purchased 600,000 vaccines for birds and 100,000 to 600,000 
doses of human seasonal flu vaccines based on CDC 
recommendations.  Kuwait is also in negotiations to purchase 
the new Human H5N1 vaccine.  GOK has plans to purchase 2.7 
million doses of this new vaccine. 
 
¶6.  The GOK's Pandemic Outbreak plan includes the more than 
three million residents of Kuwait.  It does not discriminate 
between Kuwaiti citizens, which amount to approximately one 
million people, and foreign nationals.  In addition, it 
 
KUWAIT 00000478  002 OF 002 
 
 
includes provisions to support Kuwaiti citizens traveling or 
living abroad.  Kuwait has sent guidance to its embassies 
around the world regarding procedures to manage an outbreak. 
The GOK has also supplied doses of Tamiflu to its embassies 
in poorer countries. 
 
Coordination with International Organizations 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶7.  The GOK is working closely with the World Health 
Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 
to ensure that its plans are compliant with international 
standards.  According to Dr. Musaab, the Kuwait Virology Lab 
is approved and certified by WHO and MOH refers its lab 
results to Navy Medical Research Unit - 3 (NAMRU-3) in Cairo 
and CDC labs in London.  MOH is following international 
guidelines in the areas of specimen collection, laboratory 
diagnosis, biosafety, surveillance, clinical management, 
pandemic preparedness and vaccination. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶8. This presentation, the first of its kind by the MOH for 
the Embassy, is an important next step in the Embassy's 
coordination with the GOK, especially the Ministry of Health 
on Pandemic Outbreak preparedness.  This meeting allowed the 
AIWG the opportunity to get details on various technical 
aspects of the Kuwaiti plan.  More importantly, it opened the 
door to gaining more access to GOK information through 
working level contacts.  As a next step, Embassy has asked 
the Ministry of Health for a complete list of POCs for 
various Ministries and departments involved in the GOK 
Pandemic Outbreak Plan.  This will bolster the Embassy's 
government contact list for any emergency, not just in the 
case of an outbreak. 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
********************************************* * 
Jones