VZCZCXRO2694
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHHI #1920/01 3131016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091016Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6682
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 3920
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3204
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 5776
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 1287
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0829
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0326
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 1532
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS 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//
RUEHSUN/USUN ROME IT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001920 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
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 (STIEGER/VALDEZ/DMILLER/HICKEY) 
CDC FOR OGHA (SBLOUT/KMCCALL) AND DIV-FLU (NCOX/AMOHEN) 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (STERN) 
HHS PASS TO FIC/NIH (RGLASS) 
USDA PASS TO APHIS, FAS (OSTA AND OCRA), FSIS 
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC (MMALISON), USAID (JMACARTHUR/MBRADY) BANGKOK 
FOR APHIS (NCARDENAS), REO(JWALLER) 
BEIJING FOR HHS HEALTH ATTACHE (BROSS) 
PHNOM PENH FOR CDC INFLUENZA COORDINATOR(WBRADY) 
ROME FOR FAO 
VIENTIANE FOR CDC INFLUENZA COORDINATOR (ACORWIN) 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR KFLU VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE - SCATTERED OUTBREAKS 
THROUGHOUT COUNTRY 
 
REF: A. HANOI 1981 B. HANOI 1835 C. HANOI 1793 
 
HANOI 00001920  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. Avian influenza outbreaks continue to flare up in 
various locations across Vietnam, with six provinces now reporting 
infected birds over the past month.  All have been quickly and 
easily controlled.  Officials have not yet linked the outbreaks, 
though they may represent the early onset of the wave of infection 
that normally spreads during the cooler, winter months.  Testing has 
shown that a Korean national with flu-like symptoms who recently 
died in Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta did not/not suffer from 
H5N1 avian influenza A.  End Summary. 
 
November Outbreak in Ben Tre Province 
------------------------------------- 
¶2. On November 9, the Department of Animal Health (DAH) in the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported an 
outbreak in a flock of 60 2 month-old ducks in Hoi An village, Da 
Phuoc Hoi commune, Mo Cay district, Ben Tre Province (approximately 
85 kilometers south of Ho Chi Minh City), the sixth province to have 
reported outbreaks among poultry within the past month. The flock 
began to sicken on November 1, leading to 36 deaths.  DAH testing on 
November 6 confirmed the presence of H5N1 avian influenza. Ben Tre 
province borders Tra Vinh province, which suffered an earlier 
outbreak (ref C). 
 
November Outbreak in Ha Nam Province 
------------------------------------ 
 
 ¶3. (U) On November 6, DAH reported the death of 590 ducks in 
northern Ha Nam province (approximately 60 km south of Hanoi). The 
die-off of the flock of two-month-old ducks started on November 5. 
November 7 testing by DAH confirmed the presence of H5N1 avian 
influenza.   Additional tests also found the H5N1 virus in samples 
taken from two dead chickens found in a river in that province. 
 
Cao Bang and Quang Tri Hit Again 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) On November 5, DAH reported additional incidences of H5N1 in 
Cao Bang and Quang Tri provinces, both of which earlier reported 
isolated avian influenza outbreaks (ref B). Five out of seven 
specimens from chickens and ducks in two communes of Trung Khanh 
district of Cao Bang province tested positive for H5N1 by the 
National Centre for Veterinary Diagnosis. Two villages (Phuoc Thi 
and An My) in Gio My commune, Gio Linh district in central Quang Tri 
province reported deaths of ducks between November 2 and 4, 
resulting in the culling of 2,673 ducks.  An Agriculture Ministry 
official warned that continued flooding in Quang Tri could help 
spread the virus to nearby areas.  (Note:  Related flooding in 
provinces north of Quang Tri also may facilitate the continued 
outbreak of cholera reported in ref A) 
 
October Outbreak in Nam Dinh 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) On October 31, DAH reported an outbreak in a flock of 400 
 
HANOI 00001920  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
unvaccinated 35-day-old ducks in My Loc District, My Phuc commune in 
Nam Dinh province (about 70 kilometers southeast of Hanoi and close 
to Ha Nam province).  The ducks initially appeared ill on October 26 
and over half the flock died on October 28.  On October 30, the 
National Centre for Veterinary Diagnosis Specimens confirmed the 
presence of H5N1 in samples from taken from the flock.  The 
unvaccinated ducks were said to have been bought from Ha Tay 
province (located between Ha Nam and Nam Dinh). On the same day, DAH 
confirmed recurrence of outbreaks in Tra Vinh province in the Mekong 
Delta in southern Vietnam. This outbreak occurred on October 29 in 
Chau Thanh district, Thanh My commune and involved 500 ills ducks, 
400 of which reportedly died (see ref C for details of an October 10 
outbreak in a different district in Tra Vinh province). 
 
Initial Cao Bang Outbreak 
------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) On October 26, DAH reported an October 10 outbreak of avian 
influenza in Trung Khanh district, Duc Hong commune in Cao Bang, a 
mountainous northern province on the Chinese border.   DAH reported 
that samples tested for positive on 25 October for H5N1 influenza A 
in 560 poultry (480 ducks and 80 chickens) in a small, rural 
village.  Though the onset of the outbreak occurred over two weeks 
ago, villagers did not promptly report the incident to the 
authorities. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc 
Phat asked relevant agencies to strictly control the trading and 
transportation of poultry and poultry products across borders and in 
local markets to prevent the spread of this dangerous strain of the 
H5N1 bird flu virus. 
 
Possible Human Infection Debunked 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Pasteur Institute confirmed to Consulate staff that a 
South Korean national who recently died in Can Tho City, in the 
Mekong Delta, tested negative for H5N1.  On Nov. 7, the Tropical 
Disease Hospital of HCMC also referred a sample from a second Korean 
national (this one in Dac Lac province), which also tested negative 
for H5N1.  Local media had erroneously reported that the first 
victim possibly was infected with H5N1 and that his father in South 
Korea also might have suffered from the virus. 
 
Outbreaks Likely Unrelated 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8. Currently six provinces scattered across the country -Quang Tri 
(central), Cao Bang (far north), Ha Tay (north), Nam Dinh 
(north),Tra Vinh (south) and Ben Tre (south) - have reported H5N1 in 
the past 21 days.  Based upon information received to date, it 
appears that outbreaks are not linked the GVN used standard response 
measures including culling, vaccination of surrounding flocks, 
disinfection of duck housing, and restriction of the movement of 
poultry beyond the outbreak area to contain each outbreak without 
geographic spread.  Most likely, these outbreaks represent the 
endemic nature of the virus as well as possible continued 
introductions from China. 
 
HANOI 00001920  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
GVN Worries about Probable Spread 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  According to MARD's Veterinary Agency, flooding in the central 
region and Mekong Delta, along with cold weather in the north, 
create favorable conditions for the development of outbreaks of 
H5N1. Experts worry that local lack of awareness may facilitate the 
spread of this disease in fowl, particularly in rural areas, such as 
Cao Bang, where locals throw dead birds into rivers and streams.  At 
a recent meeting of the National Steering Board for Bird Flu 
Control, Deputy MARD Minister Bui Ba Bong asked the Veterinary 
Agency and the Veterinary Institute to immediately send experts to 
high risk provinces throughout the country. 
 
MICHALAK