VZCZCXRO6533
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #0504/01 0621021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031021Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0989
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY PRIORITY 0632
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 2885
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 5458
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG PRIORITY 0833
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU PRIORITY 0621
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 0205
RUEHRO/USMISSION UN ROME PRIORITY
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI PRIORITY 1318
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
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 02 HANOI 000504 
 
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 MARCH 3 
 
REF: HANOI 431 AND PREVIOUS 
 
HANOI 00000504  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  There have been no new human Avian 
Influenza (AI) deaths since late October 2005 and no human 
cases over the past 105 days.  The Government of Vietnam 
(GVN) continues to report no AI outbreaks in poultry since 
the last reported incident on December 17, 2005.  The Prime 
Minister has established a second national steering 
committee in charge of preventing and combating a potential 
AI pandemic, this one chaired by the Minister of Health. 
Post's AI Working Group (AIWG) held a digital video 
conference (DVC) between Embassy Hanoi and CONGEN HCMC 
staff.  Post's Health Attache, Agriculture Attache and USAID 
representative will travel to Bangkok on March 6-7 to attend 
USAID regional AI donor workshop.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) As of March 3, 2006: 
 
-- No human AI deaths since October 29 
-- No new human AI cases in the past 105 days 
-- No AI outbreaks in poultry since the last reported 
incident on Dec. 17, 2005 in Cao Bang Province 
 
¶3.  (U) According to local press reports, the Prime Minister 
has established a national steering committee in charge of 
preventing and combating a potential AI pandemic in humans. 
The steering committee is responsible for outlining plans to 
coordinate actions of various ministries and branches in the 
fight against avian influenza in humans and monitoring the 
implementation of plans against the disease at ministries, 
sectors and localities.  The 21-member committee is led by 
Minister of Health Tran Thi Trung Chien.  According to David 
Payne of the UNDP, the committee has been meeting regularly 
under the MOH as an offshoot of GVN's SARS working group. 
(NOTE: Post is uncertain whether the GVN move aims to 
leverage donors in the public health sector since the new 
steering committee's role appears to replicate a pre- 
existing national AI steering committee chaired by the 
Minister of Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development 
(MARD).) 
 
¶4.  (U) On March 1, Post's AIWG held a DVC with fourteen 
Embassy Hanoi staff and five CONGEN HCMC staff including the 
Acting DCM.  The group discussed: harmonizing the existing 
Emergency Action Plan (EAP) with State MED's comprehensive 
AI preparedness checklist including the surveillance plan 
and communications plan; preparations for an AI tabletop 
exercise; updating AmCits on the Mission's preparedness 
planning and encouraging locals to take similar efforts in 
preparedness planning; and logistics of a worst case 
(tripwire 5) scenario, including stockpiling of foodstuffs 
and provisions. 
 
¶5.  (U) According to FAS CONGEN staff in HCMC, the ban on 
live poultry in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) imposed November 11 
 
HANOI 00000504  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
still stands.  Local authorities will meet March 8 to 
consider whether to continue the ban.  (Note: The press has 
reiterated that no new human cases of AI have been reported 
in several months, but that the threat of a pandemic still 
continues given that several human bird flu infections have 
been recently detected just over the border in China. End 
note.) 
 
¶6.  (U) As reported reftel, a nationwide poultry vaccination 
has been launched and will continue through April.  The GVN 
plans to spend VND100 billion (USD 6.27 million) this year 
to purchase imported vaccines. 
 
¶7.  (U) Local authorities in Dong Nai Province in southern 
Vietnam have taken active measures to ban illegal fish 
farmers from adding potentially harmful pig, bird and human 
manure, a common fish feed in developing countries, into the 
Tri An Reservoir, which is a main source of drinking water 
for greater HCMC.  Local press has previously highlighted 
the potential conflict in water use as the spread of H5N1 
has been associated with chicken feces. 
 
¶8.  (U) Live chickens and chicks, which are raised for 
household use (meat and eggs) and sold in informal wet 
markets, have re-emerged on the streets of Hanoi.  As 
previously reported (reftel), the occurrence of urban 
poultry in urban areas will make official control and 
surveillance of the market chain more challenging. 
 
¶9.  (U) Post's Health Attache, Agriculture Attache and USAID 
country manager will travel to Bangkok on March 6-7 to 
attend the USAID regional AI donor workshop. 
 
MARINE