This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 003353 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR USAID/RDM-A/BANGKOK PRIORITY 
STATE FOR G; CA/OCS/ACS/EAP; EAP/EX; EAP/MLS; EAP/EP; INR; 
OES/STC (PBATES); OES/IHA (DSINGER AND NCOMELLA) 
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID/RDM/A (MFRIEDMAN AND JMACARTHUR) 
USDA FOR FAS/PASS TO APHIS 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (LSTERN) 
USAID FOR ANE AND GH (DCARROLL, SCLEMENTS AND PCHAPLIN) 
STATE PASS USTR (ELENA BRYAN) 
STATE ALSO PASS HHS/OGHA (EELVANDER) 
ROME FOR FAO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR SOCI PGOV TBIO VM AFLU
SUBJECT: VIETNAM: AVIAN INFLUENZA WEEKLY REPORT FOR DECEMBER 
22, 2005 
 
REF: Hanoi 3287 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  There have been no new human Avian 
Influenza (AI) deaths in Vietnam since October 29.  The 
number of animal AI affected provinces in Vietnam continues 
to drop from a high of 21 in mid-November to 13 this week. 
With AI "in check" in recent weeks and consumer confidence 
rebounding slightly, the sale of poultry products and eggs 
has increased and they are now available in many 
supermarkets.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) hosted 
an AI briefing for the diplomatic community on December 19 
and Post has obtained an updated copy of the Ministry of 
Health's (MOH) National Plan of Action on Human Influenza 
Pandemic Prevention and Control.  The U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service provided training to 20 Vietnamese laboratory 
technicians in a new, more efficient technique for detecting 
AI in poultry.  The Government of Vietnam (GVN) also tested 
its AI response system again, conducting its second major 
bird flu exercise in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) on December 18 
with over 1,000 participants from the government and health 
sector.  End Summary. 
 
AI SNAPSHOT 
----------- 
 
¶2. (U) As of December 21, 2006: 
 
--Number of New Human AI Cases in Vietnam since October 29: 
Zero 
--Current Number of Provinces still affected by AI in 
poultry: 13 
--Estimated number of poultry culled since October 1: 3.6 
million 
 
GVN GIVES CONCISE AI BRIEFING 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) MOFA hosted an AI briefing for the diplomatic 
community about the GVN's AI and pandemic preparedness 
efforts on December 19.  Representatives from Australia, 
Canada, European Union, Germany, Norway, Algeria, United 
States and the United Kingdom were present, among others. 
 
¶4. (U) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) 
Vice Minister Bui Ba Bong stressed that the GVN has 
committed its leadership and political will to combat AI by 
following international standards (e.g., WHO, FAO); 
providing greater transparency in the detection process; 
cooperating with regional and international actors; and 
recognizing the importance of public information and 
education campaigns.  Vice Minister Bong listed eight 
measures that the GVN is currently undertaking to control AI 
in poultry, including: 1) surveillance and reporting; 2) 
improving AI diagnostic capacity; 3) culling infected birds 
and birds in high risk areas; 4) disinfecting infected 
areas; 5) controlling poultry movement; 6) vaccinations; 7) 
restructuring the poultry production process; and, 8) 
restructuring the poultry slaughtering and marketing 
systems. 
¶5. (U) According to Vice Minister Bong, the GVN is 
encouraged by the overall decline of AI poultry outbreaks 
since their peak in mid-November.  He explained that AI 
poultry outbreaks have occurred earlier in this year's 
winter season compared to two years ago, and added that this 
year provinces in the North have borne the brunt of the 
outbreaks.  He explained that provinces in southern Vietnam 
carried out their poultry vaccination programs and 
implemented strict regulations earlier than their northern 
neighbors because the South was heavily hit by AI poultry 
outbreaks last year. 
 
¶6. (U) MOH's National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology 
(NIHE) Preventive Medicine Department officials Nguyen Van 
Binh and Nguyen Tran Hien provided an update on MOH's AI 
control activities.  According to Binh, out of the 66 AI 
cases in Vietnam, 97 percent contracted the disease by 
either direct poultry contact or possibly by eating ill 
poultry.  Binh stressed that transmitting H5N1 AI from 
poultry to human is "very difficult and many people in high 
risk groups (breeders, slaughterers, veterinarians) do not 
get the disease."  The NIHE officials summarized the 
preventive measures being undertaken by the GVN, including, 
among others, stockpiling Tamiflu (NOTE: Binh confirmed that 
the GVN has 400,000 doses.  END NOTE) and strengthening 
laboratory capacity and surveillance. 
 
MOH PREPAREDNESS PLAN 
--------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Post recently received an updated copy of MOH's 
National Plan of Action on Human Influenza Pandemic 
Prevention and Control in Vietnam dated November 2005.  The 
54-page document is a detailed plan of action for government 
and health agencies in all levels (national, provincial and 
local/commune) in case of an AI outbreak and pandemic.  The 
Plan has six parts: 1) Influenza Overview; 2) Assessment of 
Influenza A (H5N1) Epidemic; 3) Objectives and Solutions by 
Influenza Pandemic Phases; 4) Organization of Implementation 
from central level to local level; 5) Estimated Budget, and; 
6) Appendices, including diagrams on the Influenza 
Surveillance System in Vietnam and Influenza A (H5N1) 
Treatment Network.  The Plan states that the  "estimated 
budget for health activities in case there is an outbreak of 
human influenza pandemic is around 17,000 billion VND" or 
USD 1.06 billion.  It is anticipated that this version of 
the National Plan will be combined with MARD's AI Plan and 
combined plans will be presented at the Beijing Donor's 
Meeting in mid-January.  (NOTE: Post has emailed the 
document to EAP/MLS.  END NOTE) 
 
EMBASSY'S WORK ON AI 
-------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) As part of a three-country mission, a delegation 
sponsored by the CDC Influenza Branch visited Hanoi December 
14-18 to discuss projects to be funded by the 2005 Tsunami 
Supplemental appropriations.  The team met with WHO, NIHE, 
CARE International, World Bank Health Team and Embassy 
officials.  The team included a medical epidemiologist 
selected by CDC who may be positioned in Vietnam to provide 
technical assistance to Vietnam's national and regional (and 
possibly provincial) laboratories on influenza issues. 
 
¶9. (U) The Health Attache met with the Japan International 
Cooperation Agency's (JICA) consultation team to discuss 
their plans for a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) laboratory in 
NIHE.  The team explained that JICA's assistance will 
include the design, construction and equipping the BSL3 
laboratory.  JICA's team will provide the technical 
assistance component in the form of biosafety training, 
assistance in writing national regulations for operating 
biosafety level laboratories, training technicians to 
diagnose and work with pathogenic microorganisms in a BSL3 
laboratory.  This project will begin in January 2006 when 
the construction consultation team will be in Hanoi.  The 
JICA team also reported that Japan's Ministry of Science and 
Education is supporting the placement of a researcher from 
Nagasaki University to work on AI and flaviviruses. 
 
¶10. (U) In January, 2006, the National Institute for Allergy 
and Infectious Diseases, a part of the National Institute of 
Health, will send to Hanoi two specialists in laboratory 
design and construction to consult with NIHE.  They will 
provide assistance in designing the non-BSL3 component of 
the research laboratory, which will also house NIHE's BSL3 
lab. 
 
USDA PROVIDES AI DIAGNOSIS TRAINING 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (U) USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
provided training to 20 Vietnamese laboratory technicians in 
a new, more efficient technique for detecting AI in poultry. 
Two U.S. experts conducted the training on Real-Time PCR 
diagnosis at the National Center for Veterinary Diagnosis in 
Hanoi December 14-21.  The course stressed hands-on training 
using equipment and supplies brought from the United States. 
The equipment was then donated to the Vietnamese Government. 
This training and equipment combined with further equipment 
donations expected in January from the World Bank and a 
United Nation's special joint fund to fight AI will allow 
Department of Animal Health to greatly increase the speed of 
AI detection, greatly strengthening Vietnam's ability to 
combat the disease.  The total value of the U.S. training 
and donated equipment is approximately USD 100,000. 
 
HCMC'S SECOND AI EXERCISE 
------------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) Ho Chi Minh City held its second AI outbreak 
exercise on December 18.  The two-hour event involved 
approximately 1,000 representatives of the Ministry of 
Health, various HCMC provincial officials, health workers 
and civilians.  The simulated AI outbreak took place in 
HCMC's Cu Chi District and according to press reports, 
Minister of Health Tran Thi Trung Chien oversaw the exercise 
to raise public awareness and to test the GVN's response to 
an AI outbreak. 
 
CHICKEN AND EGGS ARE BACK! 
-------------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) Poultry products and eggs are making a comeback to 
store shelves and consumers are eagerly buying them.  With 
the decrease in the number of provinces being affected by 
AI, the poultry industry has been gearing up its sales 
tactics in the last week and offering Vietnamese consumers 
with "virus-free" poultry and eggs.  During the December 18 
MOFA AI briefing, the British Ambassador asked whether or 
not eating chickens was safe and NIHE officials responded by 
saying that poultry is indeed safe to eat if it is properly 
slaughtered, cleaned and bought from a trusted source.  MARD 
is conducting inspections to make sure the conditions are 
met.  Interestingly, NIHE's Binh stressed that the MOH has 
"never" said that it not safe to eat chicken if it is 
properly prepared. 
 
MARINE