VZCZCXRO2045
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHHM
DE RUEHHK #0616 0941024
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031024Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4559
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0719
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 2079
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 3708
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH PRIORITY 0812
RUEHVN/AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE PRIORITY 9602
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 1278
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU PRIORITY 1151
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY PRIORITY 0318
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI PRIORITY
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG PRIORITY 3725
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI PRIORITY 4898
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA PRIORITY
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS HONG KONG 000616 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, AIAG, OES/IHA, MED 
HHS FOR OGHA - STEIGER, HICKEY 
CDC ATLANTA FOR CCID AND COGH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU EAGR CASC AMED AMGT PINR MO HK
SUBJECT: HONG KONG PANDEMIC PLANNING: CDC VISIT AND OUTREACH 
 
¶1. (U) Summary. Lisa Koonin, Infectious Disease Expert with 
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
visited Hong Kong on March 28 to aid post and local U.S. 
businesses in their pandemic planning efforts.  Post convened 
a meeting of the Consulate's internal Avian Influenza Working 
Group (AIWG) to hear about recent global policy developments 
and community mitigation planning recommendations, 
particularly focused on Consulate personnel and American 
Citizens.  Koonin was extremely interested in Hong Kong's 
recent flu-related primary school closure as important case 
study for pandemic policymakers.  As a result of Koonin's 
visit, Post is reviewing Emergency Action Plan and tripwire 
documents for revisions, and will conduct an AI tabletop 
exercise to test response capabilities and effectiveness. 
The Hong Kong American Chamber also hosted Koonin as a 
keynote speaker on "Post SARS: Pandemic Planning for 
Businesses."  In this well-attended event, Koonin reiterated 
the necessity of pre-outbreak planning as the foundation for 
an early, targeted and layered pandemic response.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Lisa Koonin, Infectious Disease Expert with the U.S. 
CDC visited Hong Kong on March 28 en route to an 
APEC-sponsored pandemic planning for SMEs training session in 
Taiwan.  While in Hong Kong, Koonin met with Post's AIWG to 
discuss pandemic policy and community mitigation strategies. 
The AIWG includes representatives from across the mission, 
both State and non-State, American and local personnel. 
Koonin discussed a full range of pandemic-related issues, 
including: a historical look of the U.S. 1918 pandemic; 
resources/policies at www.pandemicflu.gov; the critical role 
of risk communication; a three-prong approach to community 
mitigation; and the CDC's current outlook for a pandemic 
occurrence, from H5N1 or another source. 
 
¶3. (U) Koonin was extremely interested in Hong Kong's recent 
primary school closure as a result of seasonal flu outbreaks. 
 She noted that this response was not only important practice 
for a much larger and more serious outbreak, but also a 
useful case study for policymakers as they review community 
response to government containment actions.  Based on the 
March 28 discussion Post is reviewing Emergency Action Plan 
and tripwire documents for needed revisions, and will conduct 
an AI tabletop exercise to test overall response capabilities 
and effectiveness. 
 
¶4. (U) The Hong Kong American Chamber of Commerce also hosted 
Koonin as a keynote speaker on "Post SARS: Pandemic Planning 
for Businesses."  This event was attended by over 40 U.S. 
business representatives, from multinationals to SMEs. 
During a comprehensive overview of pandemic planning, Koonin 
reiterated the necessity of pre-outbreak planning as the 
foundation for an early, targeted and layered pandemic 
response, and encouraged businesses to utilize the "Pandemic 
Preparedness Planning" checklist for businesses from the USG. 
 Hong Kong-based businesses are generally well-prepared for a 
pandemic outbreak following their experiences with SARS in 
2002-2003.  Nevertheless, participants found Koonin's 
presentation informative and helpful as they considered 
measures to address future crises. 
 
¶5. (U) Post's point of contact is ESTH Officer Dawn Schrepel, 
who can be reached at schrepeldm@state.gov,  852-2841-2104 
(office). 
Cunningham