VZCZCXRO1192
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #0107/01 0181023
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181023Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4349
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 2405
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3055
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 5642
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 1094
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0755
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0285
RUEHSUN/USUN ROME IT
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 1435
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//USDP/ISA/AP//
RHMFISS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC//J2/J3/J5//
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-3//
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J00/J2/J3/J5//
RHEFAFM/DIRAFMIC FT DETRICK MD//MA-1A//

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 000107 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, INR, OES/STC, OES/IHA, MED 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE AND GH 
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 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR SOCI VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM - AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE 
 
HANOI 00000107  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
REF: A) HANOI 73 B) HO CHI MINH 10 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  There have been no reported H5N1 avian influenza 
(AI) human cases in Vietnam this year and none reported in 2006. 
H5N1 AI poultry outbreaks have occurred within the past 21 days in 
19 districts in seven southernmost Mekong Delta provinces, namely: 
Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Kien Giang, Tra Vinh and Soc 
Trang.  On January 16, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered closer 
inter-agency cooperation at all levels to combat the increasing 
number of poultry outbreaks, which have occurred in three new 
provinces since last week.  Preliminary results of last week's 
GVN/WHO/FAO field assessment to the Mekong Delta indicate that most 
poultry die-offs have been associated with illegally reared and 
unvaccinated ducks, especially hatchlings.  In Hanoi, a random visit 
to one of the city's main wet markets revealed a lack of biosafety 
measures and what appeared to be the sale of illegal Chinese 
poultry.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) There have been no confirmed H5N1 AI human cases in Vietnam 
this year and none reported in 2006. 
 
Poultry Outbreaks Continue in Mekong Delta Provinces 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶3. (U) Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD) 
officials have confirmed media reports indicating that H5N1 AI 
poultry outbreaks have occurred within the past 21 days in 19 
districts in seven southernmost Mekong Delta provinces, namely: Ca 
Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Kien Giang, Tra Vinh and Soc 
Trang.  Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu and Soc Trang Provinces were added to the 
list since last week (reftel A).  As of January 16, 18,000 birds 
have died and an additional 23,000 poultry have reportedly been 
culled.  In response to this outbreak activity, over 2.1 million 
poultry have been vaccinated, including 325,000 chickens and 1.8 
million ducks. 
 
GVN Top Leadership Mobilized to Poultry Outbreaks 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶4. (U) Various local news media reported that Prime Minister Nguyen 
Tan Dung signed on January 16 an emergency decree to contain H5N1 
poultry outbreaks by ordering all centrally-managed governmental 
agencies, including public health and animal health offices at 
provincial, district and commune-levels to work closely with the 
Fatherland Front and other mass organizations for the dissemination 
of public information to combat the spread of AI.  At a meeting of 
the National Steering Committee on Avian Flu Control in Hanoi on 
January 16, PM Dung reportedly urged animal health agencies to 
collaborate with local police and traffic police forces to strictly 
monitor the production, slaughter and transportation of poultry, 
particularly to urban areas and other areas in outbreak-free zones. 
PM Dung also urged the MARD to coordinate closely with customs 
officers and border guards to prevent the illegal importation of 
poultry and poultry products in border areas. 
 
¶5. (U) State media reported on action taken by officials in Ho Chi 
Minh City (HCMC) and Can Tho City.  Vice Chairman of HCMC People's 
Committee Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tai ordered local authorities to crack 
down on illegal transportation networks and unlicensed 
slaughterhouses in the metropolitan area.  Such networks do not have 
proper biosafety standards.  According to the HCMC Avian Influenza 
Steering Committee, HCMC is the main market for poultry produced in 
the Mekong Delta region, accounting for roughly forty percent of the 
 
HANOI 00000107  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
city's total consumption of poultry.  In addition, two steering 
committees have been established in Can Tho City to oversee the 
containment efforts and additional animal health experts have been 
dispatched to the region to support efforts underway. 
 
Experts Focused on Duck Vaccines and Public Information 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6. (U) The MARD, with support from the U.N. Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO), is reportedly conducting research to develop a 
new H5N1 vaccine for ducklings and is funded by USAID to conduct 
vaccine efficacy trials to determine appropriate timing of vaccines 
in Muscovy ducks.  MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat has indicated to 
donors that MARD expects to receive 4.5 million doses of H5N9 
vaccine for Muscovy ducks by January 19.  Meanwhile, MARD plans to 
launch a new general breeding practice campaign in February 2007 
that will focus on improving household farm sanitation practices. 
 
GVN's Phase II Integrated Operational Program Underway 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) On January 9, MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat convened a meeting 
of the Partnership for Avian and Human Influenza (PAHI) that 
included a signing ceremony for the second phase program.  After a 
brief update on the poultry outbreaks in the Mekong Delta, Minister 
Phat described the GVN's response, including: 1) tasking local 
authorities to monitor all households raising chickens and ducks; 2) 
verifying that all poultry are vaccinated and vaccinating those that 
are not; 3) implementing a disinfection campaign in every province; 
4) organizing stricter control of all poultry movement; and 5) 
examining the biosafety of every market and slaughterhouse. 
Minister Phat indicated that a telegram was sent to all provinces 
the previous day that ordered the deployment of animal health 
authorities to the district and commune level to ensure the above 
measures are implemented.  Minister Phat concluded by noting that he 
was leaving to attend a meeting where all provincial leaders would 
discuss measures to prevent the spread of AI. 
 
¶8. (SBU) At the same meeting, U.N. Resident Coordinator John Hendra 
congratulated MARD for formulating and implementing the Integrated 
Operational Program on Human and Avian Influenza and noted that 
phase two of the Joint Program represents a more conservative 
long-term capacity building program to help the GVN become better 
prepared for and respond to the infectious disease threat.  Mr. 
Hendra indicated that donors have pledged 90 percent of what was 
called for at the last donors conference and congratulated the GVN 
for its response, highlighting their integrated animal and human 
health approach, the strong national leadership and the enhanced 
coordination between government agencies, bilateral donors and U.N. 
agencies. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Following on Mr. Hendra's remarks, Dr. Hans Troedsson, WHO 
Representative, provided an impromptu summary of lessons learned 
from Vietnam's AI approach, including: 1) there needs to be a 
coordinated approach by animal and human health professionals; 2) 
you cannot buy-off AI; financial resources must be paired with 
appropriate technical assistance; and 3) there are no quick fixes to 
the threat of an AI pandemic.  Long-term commitment and investment 
is needed to halt the spread of AI. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Finally, FAO Representative Andrew Speedy stated that the 
secret of Vietnam's success was strong government support and 
 
SIPDIS 
coordinated donor contributions.  While vaccination has been at the 
heart of the country's strategy to control the disease, it is only 
one element of the comprehensive national strategy that includes 
 
HANOI 00000107  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
culling infected birds, tight control on movement of poultry, 
widespread surveillance testing, improved hygiene measures, better 
laboratories and targeted public awareness campaigns.  In order to 
detect outbreaks before they become widespread, public health 
authorities need to combine timely intelligence based on consistent 
and transparent information sharing with an improved understanding 
of the interaction between poultry production and its impact on 
human behavior. 
 
Preliminary Results of Joint Field Assessment 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Representatives of HHS/OS, CDC, WHO, FAO and UNICEF met on 
January 15 to debrief last week's joint GVN/WHO/FAO field assessment 
to the Mekong Delta.  During the meeting, technical debate focused 
on the increased number of provinces (currently seven) experiencing 
H5N1 AI outbreaks in poultry.  Most poultry die-offs have been 
associated with illegally reared and unvaccinated ducks, especially 
hatchlings.  The infection of vaccinated chicken flocks appears to 
be minimal.  The GVN/WHO/FAO team is preparing a report that will 
provide the GVN with recommendations based on their observations. 
 
¶12. (SBU) H5N1 AI outbreaks in poultry were first reported in early 
December from Ca Mau Province, where die-offs continue.  This 
southernmost area of the Mekong Delta is an inundated coastal flood 
plain relying heavily on river and canal transportation networks 
between districts and communes.  Hence, inaccessibility is thought 
to have hindered poultry vaccination and other prevention programs 
in these relatively remote areas.  Serosurveillance studies of 
poultry in Ca Mau have shown poor levels of immuno-protection. 
 
¶13. (SBU) COMMENT: The GVN has acted aggressively to institute 
control and containment measures, but reported outbreak activity 
continues to extend northward from Ca Mau toward HCMC.  It is 
unknown whether these outbreaks and observed patterns of spread 
result from new virus introductions into susceptible flocks or from 
transfer of infection within flocks from silent carriers to 
susceptible immatures as they are hatched, or to a combination of 
both.  The poultry outbreaks present unusual opportunities to 
conduct evaluations of how well the government-proscribed prevention 
and control practices have been carried out and to conduct analytic 
epidemiologic studies of farms to identify outbreak risk factors. 
However, it is uncertain if there is sufficient partner and GVN 
willingness, resources and infrastructure to successfully carry out 
such work.  Currently, it is difficult to gauge the speed and extent 
of the spread due to unknown measures of completeness, accuracy and 
timeliness of disease detection, laboratory confirmation and 
reporting.  END COMMENT. 
 
A Case for the Poultry Enforcement Agency? 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶14. (SBU) On January 12, USAID consultants working on AI activities 
visited the Ha Vi market on the outskirts of Hanoi to informally 
investigate conditions at one of the city's largest live poultry 
markets.  On this particular day, no disinfectants or biosafety 
measures were visible, despite governmental decrees mandating their 
use.  A number of Chinese-origin chickens (presumably smuggled, 
unvaccinated birds) were for sale.  In addition, several vendors 
were selling live birds from burlap sacks along the outside 
perimeter of the market.  Subsequent to their visit, the consultants 
received a phone call from local authorities who ngrily demanded 
that they should have been warne that foreigners were visiting the 
market, presuably to prepare the disinfectant and other safety 
measures.  (COMMENT: Ha Vi Market is one of the man wet markets in 
 
HANOI 00000107  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
Hanoi.  If this market does not regularly practice biosafety 
measures, then other smaller and less visible markets may also fail 
to maintain regular biosafety measures.  END COMMENT) 
 
MARINE