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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000347 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE DKOSTELANCIK AND MSESSUMS, DEPT FOR G, 
OES/IHA, OES/IHA FOR DSINGER AND RDALEY, DEPT FOR INR 
RLESTER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFLU TBIO SENV ECON EAGR PREL PL
SUBJECT: POLAND AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE: CROSS AGENCY 
COOPERATION GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT 
 
REF: A. A. STATE 209622 
 
     ¶B. B. WARSAW 3903 
     ¶C. C. WARSAW 3830 
     ¶D. D. WARSAW 3632 
     ¶E. E. WARSAW 3364 
     ¶F. F. WARSAW 3212 
 
Sensitive but unclassified -- not for internet distibution 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  Econoffs recently discussed GOP 
contingency preparations for an outbreak of avian influenza 
(AI) with the Polish Ministry of Health.  Polish Health 
Ministry officials believe that AI is still primarily a 
threat to Polish agriculture, but stressed that the GOP has 
planned thoroughly for any AI scenario, including a pandemic. 
 The GOP's Anti-Pandemic Committee (APC) is responsible for 
this effort.  The APC is composed of officials from several 
agencies, including the Ministries of Agriculture and 
Interior.  The APC continues to meet frequently to coordinate 
activity at the national and local levels of government. 
Though there have not been any reported cases of AI in 
Poland, Health Ministry officials concede there is little 
they can do to prevent the disease from crossing into Poland 
due to migratory habits of birds that summer here.  The 
Embassy's Avian Flu working group met on February 28 and 
determined that trip wire 2 has not been crossed yet and 
reviewed Embassy preparedness for that eventuality.  End 
Summary. 
 
---------------------------- 
The Structure of Cooperation 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Econoffs met with Ministry of Health Under 
Secretary of State Andrzej Wojtyla and National Health 
 
SIPDIS 
Inspectorate (an organ of the Ministry of Health) 
Anti-Pandemic Specialist Anna Swiatecka to discuss Polish 
plans to deal with what most consider an inevitable outbreak 
of AI in Poland.  Wojtyla is the Chair of the GOP's 
Anti-Pandemic Committee (APC).  He noted that one of the 
legacies of Poland's communist past that has not yet been 
dismantled is Sanepid stations, or Sanitary-Epidemiology 
Inspection Offices, of which there is one in each of Poland's 
16 voivodships.  In addition, there are another 300 
sub-offices located at the county (powiat) level.  These 
offices collectively employ over 18,000 workers and are 
essentially controlled by the Ministry of Health and the 
Ministry of Agriculture (depending upon the function being 
performed).  The APC has been able to work through these 
offices, conducting inspections and disseminating information 
to the remotest periphery of the country.  Wojtyla quipped 
that this legacy of the past provides the GOP with an 
effective tool to manage sub-national governmental 
coordination. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Ministry of Agriculture and its Veterinary 
Inspectorate run inspections out of the Sanepid offices, and 
the Ministry of Health and the National Health Inspectorate 
are currently using them to spread information about the 
human dimension of AI.  The main goals of the APC at this 
time are educating hospitals to recognize AI symptoms in 
humans, and providing information to schools about hygiene 
and what to do if a child finds a dead bird.  The APC is 
creating informational sheets on these subjects that it will 
distribute across Poland.  A different information sheet is 
already being distributed at Polish airports to travelers 
heading to countries where outbreaks of AI have been 
confirmed.  Swiatecka also mentioned that the APC has asked 
local parish priests (often the centerpiece of Polish village 
life) to spread information about AI to their congregations. 
In all cases, the goal is to provide information and 
forestall panic when AI is inevitably discovered here. 
 
----------------------- 
Planning for the Future 
----------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Poland's main veterinary laboratory, located in 
Pulawy, is rated BSL-3 (bio safety level 3).  It is able to 
detect H5, but not H5N1.  Poland currently must rely on labs 
in London or Germany for tests of this specificity.  Wojtyla 
stated that the APC has been discussing an upgrade of the 
Pulawy lab, and that the idea has gained support in the GOP. 
The main obstacles are financing and clarifying which 
ministry would control the lab.  Upgrading the Pulawy 
facility would cost approximately PLN 16 million.  Wojtyla 
believes both the financing and bureaucratic hurdles can be 
cleared. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The APC is preparing for pandemic as best it can by 
following WHO guidelines.  The GOP has ordered Tamiflu shots 
from Roche, though it expects to wait for another 8-9 months 
for receipt.  The APC is also encouraging Poles to get the 
generic flu shot, which is now widely available throughout 
the country (this was not the case a few months ago). 
-------------------- 
Embassy Preparations 
-------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The DCM convened the embassy Avian Flu working 
group on February 28 to review embassy preparations for an 
avian flu outbreak in Poland.  The working group determined 
that we have not yet crossed embassy trip wire 2 -- Bird 
infection reported in Poland -- but that we expect 
confirmation of the first case shortly.  Preparations for 
trip wire 2 and 3 were reviewed to ensure that the embassy is 
prepared to deal with the disease when its existence in 
Poland is confirmed. 
 
------------------------------------- 
The Best Laid Schemes O' Mice 'An Men 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment.  The GOP and the Polish populace realize 
that an AI occurrence is almost an inevitability at this 
point, with many cases now reported just over the German 
border.  However, from conversations with Wojtyla and 
Swiatecka, the GOP appears confident that it is as prepared 
as it can be at this point in time.  Wojtyla and Swiatecka 
also seemed very certain that the APC is conducting its 
duties effectively.  Swiatecka reported a 90% compliance rate 
with the order to keep domesticated fowl indoors in the 
Polish province closest to the German outbreak of AI.  She 
noted that the outbreak of cases in bordering countries had 
made the sense of financial loss more tangible to small 
farmers.  While it is clear that the GOP can not prevent an 
AI outbreak, the APC, which has been meeting for over a year, 
is doing its best to safeguard Poland with expertise and 
preparedness. 
ASHE