VZCZCXRO4217
OO RUEHAST RUEHCHI RUEHDH RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHNH RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHBK #1102/01 1211012
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 011012Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6917
INFO RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 6530
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 7488
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA 0455
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/USCINCPACLO WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001102 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR OES/IHB:JJONES,CPATTERSON; EAP FOR DHANNEMAN 
DEPT FOR USAID/GBH 
USDA FOR FAS AND APHIS 
HHS FOR CDC 
USCINCPACLO FOR AFRIMS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFLU AEMR ASEC CASC TBIO KSAF KPAO PREL PINR AMGT
MG, ECON, EAID, WHO, EAGR, ETRD TH 
SUBJECT:  MGSF01: No Thai H1N1, ASEAN Flu Summit May 7 
 
REF: A) Bangkok 1060 (B) State 44254 
 
BANGKOK 00001102  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: There remain no reported cases of A/H1N1 in humans 
or swine in Thailand. The Royal Thai Government (RTG) will host May 
7-8 a ministerial summit of ASEAN health ministers, to include 
Japanese, Chinese and South Korean representation.  Thailand has 
continued its cautionary advisory for travel to the U.S. and Mexico. 
 The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) remains the RTG lead agency 
although its level of coordination with other ministries needs 
improvement.  The response of Thailand's airports is robust.  Swine 
product imports from the U.S. have been effectively banned.  Embassy 
Bangkok held an EAC meeting but will institute no extraordinary 
measures at this time beyond continued communication with the 
Embassy community and general American public in Thailand.  The RTG 
is sending face masks to Mexico. END SUMMARY 
 
NO H1N1 CASES 
------------- 
¶2. (U) As of May 1, there have been no confirmed cases of A/H1N1 
influenza in Thailand.  An Australian resident of Thailand, 
returning from Melbourne, was confirmed as having only seasonal 
influenza.  The Minister of Public Health announced that travelers 
returning from Mexico, even if asymptomatic, would be put under 
surveillance for seven to fourteen days. If the traveler develops 
flu-like symptoms, health volunteers would take them to hospital. 
 
 
ASEAN + 3 MINISTERIAL SUMMIT MAY 7 
---------------------------------- 
¶3. (U) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and MoPH confirmed May 
1 the RTG would host a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) public health ministers May 7-8 in Bangkok to plan 
regional cooperation.  MFA and MoPH contacts confirmed that they 
also have invited Japan, South Korea and China to the summit and 
asserted that most of the invited ministers had already indicated 
they would attend.  The summit would consider how to use the 2003 
SARS outbreak as a model for regional H1N1 response.  At this time, 
there appears to be no plan to involve the USG or other governments, 
but MFA intends to hold a briefing for the diplomatic community 
after the conclusion of the summit. (Note: Army Chief General 
Anupong Paojinda announced that the army was prepared to provide 
security for the ministerial in the face of any potential political 
demonstrations.  End Note.) 
 
ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT RESPONSE 
------------------------------ 
¶4. (U) The MoPH continues its webpage-based cautionary advisory 
regarding travel to affected areas in the U.S. and Mexico.  Thai 
officials have said they will cease using the term "Mexican Flu" and 
instead use the term A/H1N1.  The Government Pharmaceutical 
Organization (GPO) said publicly that, by May 3, it will have 
produced an extra million oseltamivir (Tamiflu) antiviral tablets to 
prepare for an outbreak, increasing Thailand's claimed supply to 4.2 
million tablets, enough for 420,000 patients.  The GPO imports raw 
materials for Oseltamivir production from China and India. 
 
¶5. (U) Airport officials continue to thermoscan passengers at major 
Thai airports.  An A/H1N1 flu quarantine center at Bangkok's main 
international airport has been stood up to process passengers with 
flu symptoms.  Thai Airways check-in, in-flight and arrival 
procedures are robust; the majority state-owned airline has its own 
flu-specific operations center and is modeling its operations on 
response to the 2003 SARS outbreak.  Thai Airways announced it is 
considering scaling back flight schedules and employing smaller 
aircraft as it reports reduced air travel from the U.S., South 
Korea, China and Japan. 
 
INTERAGENCEY COORDINATION STILL VAGUE 
------------------------------------- 
¶6.  (SBU) Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Khachonprasat chaired the 
RTG's first interagency flu meeting on April 29.  Nonetheless, MoPH 
contacts report that interagency taskings are still unclear, and no 
follow-on interagency meeting has been set.  (Note: Sanan is one of 
several, and not the leading Deputy Prime Minister.  End Note.) 
 
BANGKOK 00001102  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Calls to Ministry of Transportation contacts indicated that the 
Ministry has not developed a clear contingency plan yet for dealing 
with transportation issues that would arise if there was a severe 
outbreak in Bangkok.  Robust airport measures appear to have been 
taken on the initiative of the Airport Authority of Thailand and 
Thai Airways (the airline is majority owned by the Ministry of 
Finance).  If need be, we will intervene next week with appropriate 
RTG officials to urge better coordination. 
 
THAILAND MAINTAINS BAN ON SWINE IMPORTS 
--------------------------------------- 
¶7. (U) On April 27, Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture's Department 
of Livestock Development issued an official memorandum to its port 
inspection offices to prohibit the importation of swine and swine 
carcasses from the United States, Mexico, and any country announcing 
an A/H1NI outbreak.  Swine and swine carcasses are defined in Thai 
regulations as live pigs, fresh, chilled or frozen pork meat, bone, 
offal, skins, hides, and swine genetic materials.  The ban does 
not/not apply to processed pork products.  To date, the Department 
of Livestock Development has not filed the required notification of 
this import ban with the World Trade Organization.  Per Ref A, we 
raised May 1 USG concerns with senior officials at the Ministries of 
Commerce, Foreign Affairs, and Agriculture. (Septel will follow) 
 
EMBASSY BANGKOK PREPARATIONS 
---------------------------- 
¶8. (U) On 1 May Embassy Bangkok held an EAC sub-committee meeting to 
discuss A/H1N1 status, and review tripwire and Mission preparation 
plans.  The Mission will not at this time take any extraordinary 
measures to alter the workplace, but will continue disseminating 
relevant information to the Mission community through management 
notices and to the general public through Consular and Public 
Affairs website updates and warden messages, as appropriate.  The 
Mission continues regular updates to international schools. 
 
THAILAND TO ASSIST ITS CITIZENS IN MEXICO WITH FACE MASKS 
----------------------------------------- 
¶9. (U) The MFA spokesman announced that Thailand will send 5,000 
face masks and hand washing gel packetss to Mexico.  The Thai 
embassy in Mexico will distribute the masks and the gels to Thais 
living there. 
 
¶10. (U) POC is ESTH officer Hal Howard, howardhh@state.gov. 
 
JOHN