VZCZCXRO7788
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHGZ #6984/01 0730906
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140906Z MAR 06
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0493
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3773
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 006984 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM 
STATE FOR CA/OCS/ACS ATTN: ELIZABETH RYAN 
STATE PASS TO NIH 
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, CELICO, DAS LEVINE 
STATE FOR USTR 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
USPACOM ATTN: MAJOR PBREED 
 
E.O. 12958 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU CACS AMED ASEC ECON CH
SUBJECT: PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY PREPARING FOR AI 
OUTBREAKS 
 
REF: A) 05 STATE 202102, B) 05 GUANGZHOU 31546, C) STATE 
 
1175, D) CHENGDU 633 E) Guangzhou 06175 
 
(U) THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE 
PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.  NOT FOR RELEASE OUTSIDE U.S. 
GOVERNMENT CHANNELS.  NOT FOR INTERNET PUBLICATION. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  A visiting PACOM/State delegation 
meeting with civil and military leaders to discuss Avian 
Flu (AI) preparedness was impressed with the level of 
planning by the Southern Military Command of the Peoples 
Liberation Army (PLA).  Civil authorities, however, were 
less impressive as they provided assurances about AI that 
were later found to be false.  While the Guangdong Public 
Health Bureau (PHB) has developed a reporting system, 
response protocols and done some medical stockpiling, the 
PLA has also established protocols to manage a general 
outbreak and could take emergency response control over 
civil authorities.  Based on dialog with the Guangdong PHB 
it appears that the Chinese policy of tightly controlling 
and selectively releasing information on AI remains in 
place.   End Summary. 
 
The PLA:  On the Bench and Ready to Play 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The visiting delegation met with the Guangzhou 
General Hospital of the Southern Military Command (SMC), 
Guangdong Provincial Public Health Bureau and the Guangzhou 
Institute of Bio-medicine and Health (a China Academy of 
Sciences Institute).  Doctors from the SMC briefed the 
delegation on the military's role of working in conjunction 
with civil authorities to manage an infectious disease 
outbreak.  Unlike the U.S., the Chinese Military's advance 
planning assumes that they will take some level of command 
responsibility over civilian resources in the very early 
stages of a crisis.  AI is clearly the dominant concern at 
this time, and the SMC has developed and continuously tests 
protocols for dealing with any infectious disease outbreak. 
As a part of this responsibility, the SMC maintains an on- 
going training program for civil medical authorities by 
providing visiting military personnel to assist civil 
hospitals establish protocols on infectious disease 
diagnosis, treatment, stabilization, containment and 
reporting.  The SMC stressed that its role is to develop, 
train, and manage civil authorities dealing with an 
infectious disease epidemic/pandemic. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Noting that the SMC evaluated over 30,000 persons 
during the 2003-2004 SARS crisis, the briefer stated that 
in addition to the General Hospital and the seven Military 
hospitals under its command, there are a number of civilian 
hospitals, clinics and treatment centers that receive 
training and some level of oversight by the SMC.  These 
places could be quickly mobilized during an outbreak to 
treat a large volume of patients, though the SMC plan 
assumes most cases would be treated on an outpatient basis. 
No absolute number of beds available was stated. 
 
A Finger on the Pulse 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The SMC and the PLA Center for Disease Control 
(PLA/CDC) maintain a system of 70 monitoring units 
throughout southern China.  They do not report to civilian 
authorities, but they do receive data from Provincial 
Agricultural stations and the civilian CDC.  In this way, 
the PLA/CDC mirrors the civilian CDC and provincial 
departments of health monitoring system except the PLA/CDC 
has no public education or media function.  In an 
emergency, the SMC has plans to deploy its civilian and 
military personnel to affected areas to assist with 
 
GUANGZHOU 00006984  002 OF 003 
 
 
decontamination, and to enforce pre-established treatment 
protocols with civil hospitals and clinics.  The briefer 
stressed that the PLA/CDC did not report to civilian 
authorities and while it did share information with the 
civilian CDCs, there did not appear to be a mandated 
exchange of information.  (Note: While this separate 
reporting channel to the national level is well known, it 
may explain why confirmations of suspected infections are 
often.  End Note.) 
 
Public Health - Playing the Support Role 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) While the military response seems to be geared 
toward managing a crisis, the Provincial Health Bureau's 
(PHB) role is directed toward early detection, basic 
training in infectious disease protocols for civilian 
authorities, and, during a crisis, enforcing established 
protocols at local levels.  Another important job the PHB 
does is to manage media access to information and reporting 
on AI issues. 
 
¶6. (U) Mirroring, but not formally communicating with the 
Military health reporting system, the PHB and Provincial 
CDC are the provincial leaders for AI planning and maintain 
a surveillance network in Guangzhou Province based on local 
civilian hospitals and clinics in 21 cities.  This 
monitoring network's goal is to identify disease trends and 
assess human contacts within animals and birds -- which are 
in the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture with 
which PHB/CDC cooperate.  The PHB maintains that it has 
decontamination and training teams working mainly in rural 
areas where, according to Director Huang Xiaoling, the need 
for AI awareness is most urgent.  When asked, Director 
Huang noted that if an AI case were identified, the PHB's 
role would be to report and transport the person to a 
hospital designated to receive AI patients. 
 
Chinese Reporting on AI - Looking Through a Dark Glass 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) When asked about the current situation, Director 
Huang said that MoA confirms that 95% of all chickens in 
the Province had been vaccinated and that while there were 
nine cases of AI in animals since 2004, there were no 
reports of infections at this time.  On March 3, however, 
CNN and BBC reported that 6000 chickens recently died in 
Guangdong Province.  AI is suspected, but not confirmed.  A 
more telling event occurred the day after the Director made 
her statement.  On March 4, Reuters ran a story about a man 
who died on March 2 of suspected H5N1 AI, after being 
hospitalized in Guangzhou since February 22.  The Reuters 
report also stated that Chinese authorities had actively 
quashed the story telling local media that the case could 
not be reported until AI was confirmed (ref E). 
 
U.S. Education Powers Advanced Drug Research in China 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶8. (U) In stark contrast to the cadre dominated Public 
Health Bureau, the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine was 
an example of China's rapidly growing potential. 
Established in 2004, the Institute has 150 scientists and 
researchers, half of whom were trained in the U.S. or 
Canada and among whom, two were nominated for Nobel Awards 
in Chemistry or Biochemistry.   The Institute's primary 
research is directed toward pathogens and infectious 
diseases (AI and Acquired Immune Diseases) and cancer 
research.  The lab's emphasis is on developing advanced NA 
inhibitors (like Oseltamivir, Tamiflu by trade name) and MR 
Blockers.  Of significance, they are researching the 
feasibility of a "pan-Influenza" vaccine using genetic 
 
GUANGZHOU 00006984  003 OF 003 
 
 
engineering to modify receptor sequences.  The Institute 
maintains its own primate lab to assist with its research. 
Co-located with the Institute are about 25 other Chinese 
and joint venture companies most of which conduct bio- 
medical/genetic based research.  The delegation's 
scientists present believed the lab's equipment to be equal 
to that found in advanced labs in the U.S. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) If south China experiences an actual AI outbreak, 
it will be interesting to see at what point the Chinese 
Government decides to relieve the MOH of its roles as the 
lead for human pandemic preparation and allow what appears 
to be the better-prepared military organizations to assume 
control of the situation and how long this military control 
would last.  It is difficult to determine at this time the 
level of transparency Post can expect from the Chinese in 
daily reporting or in a general outbreak scenario. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The PACOM Medical Planning team has seen this 
message. 
 
DONG