VZCZCXRO0277
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #1989/01 2160702
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 040702Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2957
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY PRIORITY 1592
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 2958
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 5545
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG PRIORITY 0954
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU PRIORITY 0701
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 0248
RUEHRO/USMISSION UN ROME PRIORITY
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI PRIORITY 1391
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 04 HANOI 001989 
 
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, ACLEMENTS AND 
CJENNINGS) 
STATE PASS TO USTR (EBRYAN) 
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 (JMACARTHUR AND MBRADY) 
ROME FOR FAO 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR SOCI VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM - AUGUST 4 AVIAN INFLUENZA REPORT 
 
 
HANOI 00001989  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
REF: HANOI 1629 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  There have been no new AI outbreaks in humans or 
poultry, however, Thanh Nhien Daily reported on August 3 that a 
large number of ducks in two flocks have perished in Tay Ninh, a 
province bordering Cambodia, and tests are being carried out to 
identify the cause.  A Bloomberg News report dated August 3 
indicated that test results are also pending on a sick man who 
apparently handled duck carcasses in Kien Giang Province in the 
Mekong Delta.  On July 20, the Secretary of the Department of Health 
and Human Services (HHS) and Minister of Health signed an Agreement 
on Health and Medical Sciences Cooperation in Washington, DC.  On 
July 28, the World Bank hosted an AI donor coordination meeting in 
Hanoi; the meeting echoed lackluster support in recent months from 
the international donor community to fund the Government of 
Vietnam's (GVN) "Green Book."  The GVN has lifted the ban on chicken 
rearing but has renewed the ban on duck rearing until February 2007. 
 Smuggling of live poultry across the border of China continues 
despite efforts by Vietnamese authorities to crack down on this 
illegal trade.  The Vice Minister Agriculture and Rural Development 
(MARD) Bui Ba Bong pressed local authorities in the Mekong Delta to 
finish the second national vaccination campaign before October, 2006 
and reiterated to local authorities the importance of reporting AI 
outbreaks in a timely manner.  The GVN plans to submit an 
application for the HHS Request for Application (RFA) to develop 
capacity for rapid detection of, response to and containment of 
influenza with pandemic potential.  The United States Agency for 
International Development (USAID), U.N. Food and Agricultural 
Program (FAO) and MARD held several working-level meetings to better 
coordinate support for technical training and activities focusing on 
behavioral change and communications.  The FAO purchased two BioRad 
Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machines 
for MARD's Department of Animal Health (DAH) laboratories; the 
machines replace the Smartcycle machines loaned by the Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) As of August 3, 2006: 
 
-- No human AI deaths since October 29, 2005 
-- No human AI cases since November 14, 2005 
-- No AI outbreaks in poultry since the last reported incident on 
December 17, 2005 in Cao Bang Province 
 
However, Thanh Nhien Daily reported on August 3 that "a large number 
of ducks in two flocks have perished in Tay Ninh, a Mekong Delta 
province, and tests have been carried out to find out the cause." 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Bloomberg News has picked up a Toui Tre Newpaper report 
dated August 3 indicating that a 35-year old man was hospitalized in 
Kien Giang province with bird flu symptoms.  He was hospitalized in 
Kien Giang on July 30th (and if standard protocols are followed, a 
sample would arrive for testing at the Pasteur Institute within 24 
hours with a diagnosis a few days after that).  An X-ray of his 
lungs showed extensive scarring.  Family members reported that prior 
to becoming sick, the individual handled duck carcasses.   The 
Pasteur Institute in HCMC may have results completed by end of the 
day on August 4.  The Mission is following this case and will report 
any significant developments. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On 20 July, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt and Minister of 
 
HANOI 00001989  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
Health Madame Tran Thi Trung Chien signed an Agreement on Health and 
Medical Sciences Cooperation in Washington, DC.  Article III of the 
Agreement addresses cooperation in the development of a "Rapid 
Response Protocol" to ensure an effective bilateral or multilateral 
response to contain and extinguish an outbreak of AI with pandemic 
potential.  During the U.S. visit, Minister Chien and her 15-member 
delegation visited the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, the 
National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, the Food and Drug 
Administration in Rockville, Maryland, STATE, USAID, the Office of 
Global AIDS Coordination and HHS. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On July 28, the World Bank hosted an AI donor coordination 
meeting in Hanoi that mustered only limited attendance from the 
international donor community.  Mr. Laurent Msellati, Rural Sector 
Coordinator at the World Bank, chaired a discussion with fewer than 
ten representatives from the World Bank, World Health Organization 
(WHO), U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), U.N. 
Development Program (UNDP), New Zealand AID, and USAID.  Mr. 
Msellati noted that the GVN has been pressing the World Bank for a 
donor matrix indicating both pledges and actual levels of donor 
support for AI.  He also commented that recent AI outbreaks in 
neighboring Laos and Thailand have prompted a bit of unease within 
the GVN, which believes a November outbreak is imminent. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) A WHO representative commented that there appears to be no 
evidence the GVN is using the Green Book (i.e., the Vietnam 
Integrated Operational Program for Avian and Human Influenza for the 
period 2006-2010).  He stressed the need for the promulgation of a 
high-level GVN directive to ensure that the GVN is using the Green 
Book, which was developed by a team of over thirty international 
experts, as a roadmap for investment planning for avian and human 
influenza.  The World Bank representative indicated that they may be 
able to reprogram some unused funds into an integrated 
health/agriculture program, working in the program's ten provinces 
and possibly expanding to new ones.  Meanwhile, the FAO 
representative mentioned there was need to look at long-term loans 
for poultry sector restructuring as donor interest to support the 
development of industrial poultry farms has not been strong.  (NOTE: 
As limited international donor support for AI shifts towards 
countries and regions experiencing new and recurring outbreaks, the 
GVN will need to give priority to putting the Green Book into action 
over other development assistance programs if they are to maintain 
vigilance in combating AI, for example, supporting the semiannual 
national poultry vaccination campaigns.  END NOTE) 
 
¶7.  (U) Contrary to earlier reporting (reftel), the GVN has lifted 
the ban on chicken rearing but not on raising ducks.  The Director 
of MARD's Department of Animal Breeding, Mr. Nguyen Dang Vang, was 
quoted in Toui Tre Newspaper on August 1 saying that duck farming 
would remain suspended until February 2007 because of the continued 
threat of bird flu. 
 
¶8.  (U) According to a Washington Post investigative report dated 
July 30, smugglers working under the cover of darkness haul more 
than 1,500 contraband chickens a day into Lang Son Province, one of 
six Vietnamese provinces along the Chinese border, violating the 
strict ban on illegally imported chickens.  According to the report, 
Vietnamese veterinary officials disclosed in April that they had 
found AI in samples taken from smuggled chickens confiscated in Lang 
Son during a border raid.  Within days of that event, officials in 
the remote neighboring province of Cao Bang reported the virus in 
poultry samples taken from three farms on the Chinese border after 
 
HANOI 00001989  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
dozens of potentially smuggled chickens started to die.  (NOTE: 
Despite these occurrences, which were reported in the local press 
and reftels, the GVN continues to maintain an official stance that 
no AI outbreaks have occurred in poultry since December.  END NOTE) 
Prices fluctuate, but on average, chicken that sells for 30 cents 
per pound or less in China can fetch a dollar or more in Vietnam. 
The syndicates running the smuggling rings pay local villagers about 
30 cents a bird to haul the contraband along mountain trails that in 
some cases snake for more than 10 miles, said Lang Son Province 
Director of Inspections Mr. Nguyen Thang Loi. 
 
¶9.  (U) According to a Vietnamese state media report dated July 28, 
Vice Minister of MARD Bui Ba Bong pressed local authorities in the 
Mekong Delta to finish the second national vaccination campaign 
before October, 2006 (NOTE: As previously reported (reftel), GVN 
sources have described the national poultry vaccination campaign as 
"seriously lagging behind schedule."  END NOTE) The Vice Minister 
was speaking at a workshop on poultry and waterfowl rearing in Tien 
Giang Province.  In light of recent AI outbreaks in neighboring Laos 
and Thailand, Vice Minister Bong reiterated to local authorities the 
importance of reporting AI outbreaks in a timely manner so that 
higher authorities can quickly mobilize response efforts. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) On June 26, HCMC ConGen EconOff met with Mr. Pham Van 
Minh, Director of Pha An Sinh Foodstuff Processing and Trading 
Company (PAS Food), in HCMC.  The HCMC facility is designed on a 
variation of the French/Dutch model of slaughterhouses, which has a 
capacity to process 500 chickens per hour, 5,000 per day, or 150,000 
chickens per month.  PAS Food's facility in Vung Tau, which is under 
construction, will soon be able to slaughter 2,000 chickens per hour 
or 600,000 per month.   The company has a unique, vertically 
integrated system that handles poultry production from breeding 
farms to product distribution centers.  (NOTE: Mr. Minh stated that 
imported chicken from the U.S. can be competitively priced on local 
markets, despite higher transportation costs and import duties.  PAS 
Food's has tested the market by selling a ton of imported chicken 
from the U.S. at a profit.  On August 2, Vietnam News reported that 
chicken pieces imported from the U.S. now account for around 40 
percent of the market in HCMC, Vietnam's largest city.  END NOTE) 
The HCMC Department of Animal Health (DAH) regulates health and 
safety standards on slaughterhouse locations, carcass handling 
procedures, water treatment facilities and freezing systems.  Mr. 
Minh claimed that DAH staff conduct daily rounds of inspection and 
quality control. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) In discussions between Post's CDC AI Coordinator and 
interlocutors at the Ministry of Health, the Vietnam Administration 
of Preventive Medicine (VAPM) (the principal arm of the MOH 
responsible for routine surveillance, response and implementation of 
public health programs at district and provincial levels) is taking 
the lead in responding to Request for Application CDC-RFA-CI06-607, 
which seeks a five-year cooperative agreement to develop the 
capacity for rapid detection of, response, and containment of 
influenza with pandemic potential.  In addition to VAPM, partnering 
institutions within MOH include the National Institute of Health and 
Epidemiology, Department of Curative Medicine, and the Department of 
Information, Education and Communication.  Minister Chien has 
engaged her staff to respond to the Request for Applications (RFA), 
which can fund activities of USD 1.15 million in the first year, and 
discussed the proposal during her visit to CDC offices on 17-18 
July. 
 
 
HANOI 00001989  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶12.  (SBU) In a series of meetings facilitated by USAID in June and 
July, Behavior Change and Communication (BCC) partner Academy for 
Educational Development (AED) met with several U.N. agencies in a 
push to ensure AED's BCC messaging is in sync with that of the 
larger donors.  AED met with UNICEF and UNDP and was promised 
"honorary membership" to the U.N. BCC working group, currently only 
open to U.N. partners, but which plans to open up to the wider NGO 
community in the fall. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) USAID, FAO and MARD Department of International 
Cooperation staff also met in July at the Department of Animal 
Health to review their requests for additional U.S.-based AI-related 
training.  FAO determined that subjects such as pandemic 
surveillance were already covered by their planned training and that 
USDA would support epidemiology training.  USAID will therefore look 
at the feasibility of the remainder of the DAH requests. 
 
¶14.  (U) The FAO, which receives support from USAID, purchased two 
BioRad Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) 
machines for DAH laboratories.  RT-PCR is a technique for 
identifying influenza subtypes, of which H5N1 is one of many.  These 
machines will strengthen AI surveillance and control by allowing DAH 
laboratories to more rapidly and accurately determine if (and what 
subtype of) AI viruses are present in samples.   These machines 
replace the Smartcycle machines loaned by USDA. 
 
¶15.  (U) As reported in local press, CARE International in Vietnam 
is implementing a USD 8,000 project to raise people's awareness of 
bird flu control in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang.  Under 
the project ending September 2006, CARE is conducting training 
courses on bird flu control for medical workers, members of the 
Farmers' Association and teachers in 16 communes in Cho Moi, Chau 
Phu, An Phu and Tan Chau Districts.  CARE International also 
financed a project in An Giang Province, which provided almost 
56,000 breeding chickens for 60 farming families in Tinh Bien, Cho 
Moi and An Phu districts.  (NOTE: With eight million of Vietnam's 11 
million households engaged in backyard poultry production prior to 
2003, poor households have been more severely affected by AI 
outbreaks and mass cullings as they are more dependent on poultry 
and eggs for both income and food.  END NOTE) 
 
Marine