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PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #0358/01 0480159
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 170159Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0791
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY PRIORITY 0516
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 2872
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 5444
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG PRIORITY 0815
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU PRIORITY 0612
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 0198
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RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA PRIORITY
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//USDP/ISA/AP// PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC//J2/J3/J5//
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-3//
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J00/J2/J3/J5//
RHEFAFM/DIRAFMIC FT DETRICK MD//MA-1A//

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000358 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G, CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, EAP/EX, EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, INR, 
OES/STC (PBATES), OES/IHA (DSINGER AND NCOMELLA), AND MED 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE AND GH (DCARROLL, SCLEMENTS AND 
PCHAPLIN) 
STATE PASS TO USTR (ELENA BRYAN) 
STATE PASS TO HHS/OGHA (WSTIEGER, EELVANDER AND ABHAT) 
USDA PASS TO APHIS 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (LSTERN) 
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID (MFRIEDMAN AND JMACARTHUR) 
ROME FOR FAO 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR SOCI VM
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: VIETNAM WEEKLY REPORT FEBRUARY 16 
 
REF: HANOI 301 
 
HANOI 00000358  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  There have been no new human Avian 
Influenza (AI) deaths since late October 2005 and no human 
cases over the past 91 days.  The Government of Vietnam 
(GVN) continues to report no AI outbreaks in poultry since 
the last reported incident on December 17, 2005.  The 
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) 
announced that they have developed a vaccine to immunize 
chickens and ducks against H5N1.  A state-owned institute in 
Nha Trang announced that it had successfully produced 200 
doses of H5N1 human vaccine from chicken egg embryos in 
their laboratory.  The World Bank Country Director invited 
interested donors to participate in a World Bank-led 
assessment mission on AI in early March.  A cooperative 
agreement signed by the Department of Health and Human 
Services (HHS) and the Pasteur Institute will support 
improved internet communications among Vietnam's national 
and regional laboratories.  The U.N. Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) AI coordinator for Vietnam is placing 
more emphasis on upgrading the biosecurity standards of 
small-scale operators rather than focusing on eliminating 
backyard poultry operations.  Officials from the Department 
of Agriculture (USDA) and MARD met to discuss hosting a 
regional best practices workshop on live poultry markets and 
wet markets.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) As of February 15, 2006: 
 
-- No human AI deaths since October 29 
-- No new human AI cases in the past 91 days 
-- No AI outbreaks in poultry since the last reported 
incident on Dec. 17, 2005 in Cao Bang Province 
 
¶3.  (U) Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has called on all 
government offices to maintain their vigilance to prevent AI 
outbreaks despite the absence of AI outbreaks for three 
months.   According to local press, Prime Minister Khai 
reiterated enforcement of the import ban on poultry products 
processed in infected countries and called on the Ministry 
of Trade to properly label chicken products in supermarkets 
to label point of origin and ensure product safety. 
 
¶4.  (U) As reported previously (reftel), the GVN plans to 
launch the second poultry vaccination campaign on February 
16 using 150 million doses of bird flu vaccines imported 
from China.  Deputy Director of MARD's Department of Animal 
Health (DAH) Hoang Van Nam stated to local press that the 
campaign would cost US$ 6 million. 
 
¶5.  (U) According to local press, the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) announced that they 
have developed a vaccine to immunize chickens and ducks 
against H5N1.  The vaccine was developed using a WHO seed 
strain.  MARD reports that testing of the vaccine on 2000 
ducks is currently underway with good preliminary results. 
[NOTE: Post has not seen the clinical data to independently 
assess the efficacy of the vaccine. ENDNOTE]  Sources at 
MARD indicate that if all goes well, they plan to 
manufacture 5 million doses by the end of 2006. 
 
¶6.  (U) According to local press, the Nha Trang Vaccine and 
 
HANOI 00000358  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Biological Product Institute announced it had successfully 
produced 200 doses of H5N1 human vaccine (FLUVAC) from 
chicken egg embryos in their laboratory.  The resulted of 
the test will be known in on/about February 23.  The GVN has 
approved the applicable research to mass-produce the vaccine 
within 18 months.  The institute said it would produce 
another 3,000 doses for tests and clinical trials on humans 
within 18 months. 
 
¶7.  (U) On February 13, the World Bank and United Nations 
Development Program (UNDP) convened an informal Chief-of- 
Mission donor's meeting to debrief on Beijing AI Donor 
Conference and discuss upcoming WB-led assessment mission. 
World Bank Country Director Klaus Rohland stressed the 
importance of harmonization between the donors' AI 
assistance to GVN, particularly in jointly identifying long- 
term investment and technical assistance needs.  He invited 
all interested donors to participate in a World Bank-led 
assessment mission on AI in early March.  The World Bank is 
establishing a regional trust fund that could be used to 
support regional stockpiles rather than individual 
government stockpiles; specific shortfalls in country- 
specific plans; fight serious outbreaks in countries around 
the world; and support sharing experience/knowledge (e.g. 
GVN support to Nigeria). 
 
¶8.  (U) HHS and the Pasteur Institute (Paris) signed a 
cooperative agreement to enlist the Institute's extensive 
laboratory network in Southeast Asia to improve laboratory 
capacity for identification and diagnosis of influenza 
viruses, particularly avian influenza.  In Vietnam, the 
cooperative agreement will support internet communications 
among Vietnam's national and regional public health 
laboratory facilities.  The agreement will also support a 
laboratory biosafety consultant for PI in Vietnam. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In private discussions with the Agriculture 
Attache, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization AI 
coordinator for Vietnam Tony Forman suggested that the GVN's 
current focus on eliminating backyard operations might be 
better put on upgrading the biosecurity of small commercial 
operations.  These operations often raise poultry in open 
areas under crowded and unhygienic conditions and then sell 
birds over great distances in live bird markets.   The 
backyard operations, by contrast, do not offer as great a 
threat of spreading the disease particularly as their 
poultry is usually slaughtered and consumed in the farm or 
village where it is raised.  The economic harm eliminating 
backyard operations would cause very poor subsistence 
farmers is also a concern to FAO. One proposal he suggested 
would be to mandate that small commercial operations bring 
their biosecurity to acceptable levels within a number of 
years or else have their operating licenses revoked.  FAO 
has expressed this view to the GVN. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) During a regional visit that included meetings in 
Hanoi February 9-11, USDA consultant Dr. Percy Hawkes met 
with relevant GVN agencies to discuss an AI Market Best 
Practices Workshop tentative scheduled in May.   The 
regional workshop, to be co-organized by MARD's Departments 
of Livestock Production and Animal Health, aims to share 
lessons and best practices for regulating live poultry 
 
HANOI 00000358  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
markets and wet markets in urban and rural areas.  Dr. 
Hawkes commented to the Charge d'Affairs that GVN officials 
have a much better understanding of best practices than in 
the other countries he has visited, including Cambodia, Laos 
and Indonesia. 
 
MARINE