VZCZCXRO4184
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHYN #1850/01 2801057
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071057Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2967
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 001850 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ARP FOR ANDREW MACDONALD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFLU AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO TBIO KSAF KPAO PREL
PINR, AMGT, TF, YM 
SUBJECT: SITREP: YEMEN'S H1N1 PANDEMIC AND PANIC 
PREPARATIONS 
 
REF: A. SANAA 1134 
     ¶B. SANAA 875 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  Yemen has 266 confirmed H1N1 influenza 
cases, and the number is increasing across the country. 
Since the end of August, most of the H1N1 cases in Yemen have 
come from local transmission.  The 266 infected people have 
been treated with Tamiflu and either sent home or 
hospitalized, depending upon the severity of the cases.  In 
the short-term, the ROYG appears to be handling the 266 
Yemeni cases of H1N1 influenza appropriately, following WHO 
guidelines for detection and treatment of the sickness.  If 
the H1N1 pandemic approaches panic-level proportions, the 
ROYG will have to ramp up its awareness campaign efforts, as 
current efforts are not enough to educate the public 
effectively and alleviate anxiety.  End Summary. 
 
266 H1N1 CASES CONFIRMED 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U) Yemen has 266 confirmed H1N1 influenza (informally 
known as swine flu) cases, Dr. Abdulhakeem Ali al-Kohlani, 
Director General of Disease Control and Surveillance at the 
Ministry of Public Health and Population, told EconOff on 
October 5.  Of the 266 people who have contracted H1N1 
influenza, eight have died, and 215 have completely 
recovered.  The other 43 cases are under isolation and 
undergoing treatment, mostly at home, while severe cases are 
treated in hospitals.  According to Kohlani, the number of 
cases is increasing across the country. 
 
¶3.  (U) Since the end of August, most of the H1N1 cases in 
Yemen have come from local transmission, starting with two 
locally-transmitted cases identified in Seyoun, and one 
diagnosed in Sana'a.  Still, in comparison to neighboring 
Gulf states, which have thousands of confirmed H1N1 cases, 
the numbers of confirmed cases are limited in number.  (Note: 
According to Kohlani, Saudi Arabia has over 4000 confirmed 
cases and 30 deaths from H1N1 influenza, and Oman has over 
1700 confirmed cases and 19 deaths.  End Note.)  Kohlani told 
EconOff that he believes that the limited numbers in Yemen 
are due to the lack of transit through the country.  He also 
suggested that for each case diagnosed, there are ten 
additional cases in existence. 
 
¶4.  (U) The victims of H1N1 influenza tend to be young. 
According to Kohlani, only five percent are more than 50. 
The eight who died were between the ages of 19 and 40 years 
old.  Of those who succumbed to the disease, seven of them 
sought medical treatment very late (6 days or more) after 
becoming sick, and, as a result, all had severe pneumonia. 
The eighth case was a pregnant woman, who sought medical 
treatment after the third day of sickness.  Suffering from 
bronchial asthma, she died while being transferred to a 
hospital in Mukalla (Hadramaut governorate). 
 
YEMEN PARTICIPATES IN WHO REGIONAL COMMITTEE 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Yemen's Minister of Public Health and Population, 
Abdul-Karim Rase, is currently participating in the 6th 
annual round of the Regional Committee of World Health 
Organization (WHO) for the Middle East in Morocco.  According 
to Kohlani, Rase will raise the issue of how to ensure wider 
vaccine distribution and how to work together to vaccinate 
people going on the hajj (Muslims' annual pilgrimage to 
Mecca, which peaks this year between November 22 and December 
6).  The ROYG has requested 1.75 million doses of the vaccine 
from the WHO.  According to an October 3 official Yemen News 
Agency (SABA) article, the ROYG has also benefited from WHO 
support of its Epidemic Monitoring Program. 
 
YEMEN'S PANIC AND PANDEMIC PREPARATIONS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) As the number of H1N1 cases has risen rapidly, the 
level of anxiety has likewise increased.  In order to 
mitigate anxiety, the Ministry of Public Health and 
Population has started to make weekly announcements updating 
the number of cases, instead of daily announcements.  The 
ministry continues to run quarantine offices equipped with 
thermal imaging devices in all three international airports 
(Sana'a, Aden, and Mukalla) as well as at major border 
crossings to Saudi Arabia and Oman (REF B).  Kohlani admitted 
to EconOff that the quarantine offices are still in operation 
mainly to keep the public satisfied.  Now that H1N1 influenza 
 
SANAA 00001850  002 OF 002 
 
 
is largely being transmitted locally, the quarantine offices 
are not as useful.  When pressed by EconOff, Kohlani admitted 
that the ministry has identified only six cases at the 
airport and that only 25 of all the cases in Yemen came from 
outside the country. 
 
¶7.  (U) The Ministry of Public Health and Population has also 
introduced a public awareness campaign to preclude panic. 
The ministry has produced pamphlets and posters and placed 
advertisements on the radio and television to inform the 
public of the realities of H1N1 influenza.  Members of the 
High Committee for Fighting H1N1, which includes members of 
Parliament, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of 
Endowments, have given interviews with the media to clarify 
the situation.  On advice from the Health Ministry, which is 
afraid of a severe outbreak, the Ministry of Education has 
delayed the opening of schools in Sana'a and Seyoun, where 
the H1N1 outbreak is concentrated.  Grades 10-12 will start 
on October 10; Grades 7-9 will start on October 24; and 
Grades 1-6 will start on October 31.  (Note: All other 
schools started on October 3 with just a one-week delay.  End 
Note.)  Teachers have been instructed to monitor students and 
send them home if sick.  If a single positive case of H1N1 
influenza is identified, the students in that class should be 
sent home for one week.  If more cases are identified, the 
entire school should close.  These measures are ostensibly in 
synch with WHO technical committee recommendations to 
countries with less than one percent of their populations 
affected by H1N1 influenza and employed in order to reduce 
the spread of the disease. 
 
¶8.  (U) The ROYG currently has enough oseltamivir phosphate 
(Tamiflu) to treat 76,000 patients.  In the face of an 
outbreak of overwhelming proportions, the Health Ministry 
plans to vaccinate people in the following order: 1) medical 
staff, 2) soldiers, 3) pregnant women, 4) children and the 
elderly, and 5) people with chronic diseases.  Kohlani 
claimed that soldiers need to be treated so that they can 
"quell unrest" if/when the pandemic reaches panic 
proportions. 
 
EMBASSY SANAA'S SITREP 
---------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Post's Health Unit continues to monitor Embassy 
staff for influenza and keep the Embassy community updated on 
the risks of H1N1.  The level of anxiety amongst Locally 
Employed Staff (LE Staff) has risen along with traffic 
through the Health Unit.  Health Unit staff continue to 
reassure Embassy staff about the risks of H1N1 influenza. 
The Health Unit has the ability to collect a nasal swab 
sample, can perform rapid tests for influenza A/B, and 
continues to have enough Tamiflu to treat all Embassy 
Americans and LE Staff, should H1N1 reach overwhelming 
proportions in Yemen.  (Note: The Health Unit has enough 
Tamiflu for 588 courses.  End Note.) 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  (U) The ROYG appears to be handling the 266 Yemeni cases 
of H1N1 influenza appropriately, following WHO guidelines for 
detection and treatment of the sickness.  The ROYG response 
also appears to be in coordination with regional efforts 
through the WHO Regional Committee.  If the numbers of cases 
increase to levels seen in neighboring countries, however, 
ROYG resources may not be enough to handle overwhelming 
proportions or associated panic.  If the H1N1 pandemic 
reaches panic-level proportions, the ROYG will have to ramp 
up its awareness campaign efforts, as current efforts are not 
enough to educate the public effectively and alleviate 
anxiety.  End Comment. 
 
SECHE