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

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001114 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2016 
TAGS: IR PGOV PINR PREL TU TBIO AMED EAID CASC SENV EFIN EAGR KFLU
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA IN IRAN 
 
 
Classified By: DCM NANCY MCELDOWNEY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: AI is present only along Iran's eastern and 
northern borders according to Iranian visa applicants in 
Ankara.   Iranians in the medical field believe that the GOI 
does not have the plans, the resources, or vaccine stock to 
handle an AI outbreak.  Iranians outside the medical 
profession, though, have argued that the government has flu 
vaccines available on hand to mitigate AI cases.  End summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
AFTER THE GOVERNMENT'S AI ANNOUNCEMENT 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Iranians who work in the medical sector have recently 
told us that the government does not have enough Tamiflu in 
stock for an outbreak of AI.  A microbiologist with 6 years 
experience in her field said that the only flu vaccine in 
stock in Iran is for influenza type B.  As far as she knows, 
the government has not set aside any funds for research into 
an AI vaccine.  A nurse from Esfahan and another nurse from 
Shiraz confirmed that there were no stocks of flu vaccines in 
preparation of an AI outbreak at the hospitals where they 
work.  A doctor from Tehran explained that as part of its 
prevention program the GOI conducts random checks on poultry 
farms, testing birds for AI.  Other than finding out when AI 
arrives in Iran, though, he said that the government of Iran 
does not have a plan to address AI. 
 
¶3. (C) After the government announcement, Iranians were 
worried about the safety of eating poultry.  A family from 
Tehran told us that the GOI had confirmed that AI was present 
along Iran's eastern and northern borders but not in Tehran. 
After the announcement, they stopped eating chicken.  An 
elderly woman from Tehran said that she heard AI has been 
found in the north of Iran, and she stopped eating chicken as 
well.  A woman from Shiraz said that the government news 
reported that AI was along Iran's borders but no further.  A 
medical researcher from Tehran said that she still ate 
poultry but now makes sure that the poultry is fully cooked. 
She said the GOI was airing public service announcements on 
how to properly cook poultry.  She believed that the GOI was 
working with WHO on AI. 
 
---------------------------- 
PRIOR TO THE DISCOVERY OF AI 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Prior to the GOI's announcement of AI, most non-expert 
Iranians we spoke with believed that the government had an 
elaborate prevention program in place.  An elderly couple 
from Ghazvin explained that since the GOI had vaccines for 
the entire population, there was no reason to worry.  An 
accountant who worked at the Ministry of Agriculture said 
that the government had a plan to import vaccines when AI 
arrived in Iran.  Other applicants said that the government 
would give out vaccines when people showed signs of having 
contracted AI. 
 
¶5. (C) Applicants had great faith in the government's 
screening methods at the borders to stop AI from entering 
Iran although they were unclear on what the government was 
doing or how AI spreads.  Some believed that the GOI was 
vigilantly screening imports and others believed that 
crossing the Iran-Turkey border was prohibited (despite the 
fact that they themselves were in Turkey for visa interviews). 
WILSON