VZCZCXRO1885
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #0672 1561537
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051537Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4280
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 9896
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0341
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 8030
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0748
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1469

UNCLAS BERLIN 000672 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/CE PETER SCHROEDER 
STATE FOR OES/IHB 
STATE FOR AID/GH/HIDN 
USDA PASS TO APHIS 
HHS PASS TO CDC 
HHS FOR OGHA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU ECON PREL SOCI CASC EAGR MX GM
SUBJECT: GERMANY H1N1 FLU UPDATE: AN 11-CASE SPIKE, 49 TOTAL 
 
REF:  A) Berlin 657, B) Berlin 641, C) Berlin 626, D) Berlin 
545, E) Berlin 537, F) Berlin 526, G) Berlin 518, H) Berlin 
512, I) Berlin 495, J) Berlin 488 
 
 
¶1. (SBU)  SUMMARY: The number of H1N1 cases in Germany rose to 
49 on June 5 as eleven more people were confirmed to be 
infected with the new virus.  The states of Lower-Saxony and 
Rhineland-Palatinate reported their first infections. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  On June 5, the National Reference Center for 
Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced in its 
press briefing eleven new laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 
in Germany.  This increases the total number of confirmed 
cases to forty-nine (Refs B-E).  According to the institute, 
ten of the infections occurred in the US and one was a case of 
human-to-human transmission in Germany.  The new cases were 
distributed among the federal states as follows: Hesse (2), 
Baden-Wuerttemberg (3), Lower Saxony (1), Thuringia (2), 
Rhineland-Palatinate (1) and Bavaria (2). 
 
 
First Infections in Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  RKI reported on June 5 the first infections in the 
federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony.  The 
Health Ministry in Lower Saxony confirmed the virus in a 4- 
year old boy who returned from a trip to the US with his 
family.  He showed flu-like symptoms and was treated at a 
hospital. Media reports indicate that he is now at home where 
he and his family are in quarantine.  A 4-year old girl from 
Rhineland-Palatinate was also confirmed to have the flu. 
Media reports indicate that the girl returned from a trip to 
the US with her family with fever and cold symptoms.  Health 
officials report that in both cases the course of the flu is 
mild. 
 
 
Tally of sources 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU)  In 30 of the 49 (total, to date) cases, the 
infection occurred in the US, nine cases occurred in Mexico, 
and one in England. Nine of the infections were transmitted 
among five families of Germans who returned from travel, at a 
hospital and the airport. 
 
 
KOENIG