VZCZCXRO7804
RR RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHPB RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #1352/01 1391050
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191050Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4075
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//USDP/ISA/AP//
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC//J2/J3/J5//
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J00/J2/J3/J5//

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 001352 
 
HHS FOR OGHA 
CDC ATLANTA FOR CCID, AND PASS TO FLU COX AND MOUNTS AND 
COGH BLOUNT AND KELLEY 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFLU AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO TBIO KSAF KPAO PREL PINR
AMGT, MG, EAGR, HHS, TF, CH 
SUBJECT:  TFFLU01: H1N1 INFLUENZA OUTBREAK - CHINA SITREP # 14 
 
REF: A) BEIJING 1335  B) BEIJING 1317 C) BEIJING 1298    D) BEIJING 
1283     E) BEIJING 1274     F) BEIJING 1264 
 
FOURTH CASE CONFIRMED ON MAINLAND CHINA, FIFTH SUSPECTED 
------------------- ----------- ------------------------ 
 
¶1.  (U) As of May 19, there are four confirmed cases of influenza A 
(H1N1) on Mainland China. China's Ministry of Health (MOH) announced 
that the suspected case in Guangzhou reported on May 18 has been 
confirmed as influenza A (H1N1) positive by China CDC (REF A). There 
are three other confirmed H1N1 cases on Mainland China (REF A, D and 
F). Hong Kong also has three confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1). 
 
¶2. (SBU) On May 19, MOH informed Embassy Beijing of a suspected H1N1 
case in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). The Italian female flew 
from Italy to Nepal on May 12 and developed flu-like symptoms on May 
¶15. She exhibited a high fever when she arrived at Zhangmu port in 
the TAR on May 16, and then was transferred to the port hospital. 
On May 18, Tibet CDC test results showed positive for influenza 
A/H1N1 nucleic acid. A sample from the case has been sent to China 
CDC for final confirmation. All of the 23 travelers with the 
suspected case, including six AmCits (REF A), have been quarantined 
in a local hotel in Zhangmu. 
 
 
STATUS OF AMCIT QUARANTINE CASES 
--------------------- ---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) As of May 19, 11 American citizens are reported to be in 
quarantine throughout China. Four AmCits are currently quarantined 
in Beijing, one is quarantined in Shanghai and another six are 
quarantined in the TAR. 
 
-- Four AmCits are quarantined in Beijing at Ditan Hospital. 
 
--One AmCit male is quarantined in Shanghai. He arrived in Shanghai 
via flight AA289 on May 18 and had no fever or contact with 
symptomatic cases, but was quarantined because he transited Mexico 
within the last 7 days.  He should be released from quarantine on 
May 21. 
 
--Six American citizens are being quarantined in a hotel in Zhangmu, 
a town close to the Nepal border in the TAR. ConGen Chengdu has been 
in contact with the AmCits and is working to get information about 
their medical test results from the TAR FAO. If their test results 
come back negative for H1N1, the Amcits could be released by May 22. 
(Note: This is a correction from REF A about the same group which we 
believed to be five in number and quarantined in Lhasa. End note.) 
 
 
EMBASSY BEIJING POSTS RESPONSE TO CHINESE PRESS ACCUSATIONS 
------------------------- ---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) To address criticism in the Chinese media about poor U.S. 
government and media response to the H1N1 virus, Embassy Beijing PAS 
has posted on the Embassy website a statement in both Chinese and 
English describing U.S. efforts to prevent the spread of H1N1. 
 
 
CHINA'S NET USERS ANGRY AT AND FEARFUL OF OVERSEAS STUDENTS 
---------------------- ------------------- ---------------- 
 
¶5. (U) According to press reports, Chinese Net users are venting 
their anger at the three overseas Chinese students who returned from 
overseas (two from the United States and one from Canada) and were 
later confirmed to be infected with influenza A (H1N1). All three 
were harshly criticized for traveling and spending time in public 
after they already had symptoms. Some netizens suggested the 
government ban all overseas Chinese from returning. More than 
two-thirds of the 15,000 polled on sina.net said overseas students 
should stay away as long as the virus is still a problem. 
 
 
BEIJING 00001352  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
CHINA ISSUES NEW HEALTH DECLARATION FORM 
----------- ---------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Effective May 18, China's General Administration of Quality 
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has issued a new 
health declaration form. The new form, which must be filled out upon 
arrival, requires passengers to declare any travel plans for the 
seven days after landing, including details such as contact 
addresses and numbers, and carrier numbers for flights. The number 
of symptoms asked about on the form has also increased from eight to 
¶11. 
 
DELEGATION TO THE U.S. QUARANTINED UPON RETURN 
------------ --------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) According to press reports, a group of 24 officials who were 
sent to the U.S. for a study tour were quarantined upon their return 
to Hainan. No one in the group had unusual symptoms, but the 
province reportedly put the group in seven days of home quarantine, 
due to the "rapidly increasing trend of H1N1 in the United States" 
and the need "to avoid the risk of importing cases." 
 
 
CHINA ISOLATES ITS FIRST H1N1 VIRUS STRAIN 
-------------------- --------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) China CDC's National Influenza Laboratory has successfully 
isolated the nation's first outbreak associated H1N1 virus strain 
from a clinical sample from the first case in China (REF F) and 
named it as A/Sichuan/1/2009(H1N1). The virus isolated in China and 
the virus isolated from the U.S and Mexico are homologous. China CDC 
has submitted the sequence to the Genbank Sequence Database (under 
the National Institutes of Health - NIH) and the Global Initiative 
on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID), both sources for 
international collaboration and information sharing. 
 
 
WEINSTEIN