VZCZCXRO4321
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #0686 1601414
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091414Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4306
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 9907
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0342
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 8035
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC 0110
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0749
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1470

UNCLAS BERLIN 000686 
 
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: A 19-CASE SPIKE, 68 TOTAL 
 
REF:  A) Berlin 672, B) 663, C) 657, D) Berlin 641, E) Berlin 626, 
F) Berlin 545, G) Berlin 537, H) Berlin 526, I) Berlin 518, J) 
Berlin 512, K) Berlin 495, L) Berlin 488 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The number of H1N1 cases in Germany rose to 68 on 
June 8 as nineteen more people were confirmed to be infected with 
the new virus.  Two US soldiers at a military facility in Landstuhl 
(Rhineland-Palatinate) are infected with the virus and several other 
US military cases are suspected. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On June 8, the National Reference Center for Influenza at 
the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced in its press briefing 
nineteen new laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 in Germany.  This 
increases the total number of confirmed cases to sixty-eight (Refs 
A-E).  According to the institute, fourteen of the infections 
occurred in the US, with others from Canada, Argentina, and Panama. 
Two infections were cases of human-to-human transmission inside 
Germany.  The new cases were distributed among the federal states as 
follows: Baden-Wuerttemberg (5), Bavaria (4), North Rhine-Westphalia 
(4), Hamburg (3), Hesse (1), and Lower Saxony (2). 
 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Bavarian health officials confirmed four new cases of 
H1N1. A family member of a 45-year old man from Munich who recently 
was confirmed to have the flu, was tested positive for the virus. A 
16-year old girl from the area of Wuerzburg returned from a trip to 
Argentina with flu-like symptoms and was confirmed to the have the 
virus.  According to the media, she passed the virus on to a 16-year 
old girl friend. A 44-year old woman from Munich also tested 
positive for the new flu. She returned from a trip to the US with 
flu-like symptoms and was later confirmed to have the flu. Health 
officials report that the course of the virus in all four cases was 
mild, with all patients on the way to recovery. There is currently 
no information available regarding the confirmed infections in the 
other federal German states. 
 
 
US Soldiers in Germany Infected with New Flu 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Media reports indicate that two cases of swine flu have 
been confirmed in soldiers at the medical center in Landstuhl 
(Rhineland-Palatinate).  Two Navy and two Air Force personnel who 
have shown flu-like symptoms are reportedly "probable" cases of 
infection. One Navy sailor was recently in Italy and the others 
remained in-country. All were reportedly sharing a common area at 
the Landstuhl hospital. Contacts of the infected patients are 
reportedly being treated with Tamiflu as a preventive measure. The 
patients have been isolated at a different building complex on the 
military facility. (Comment: According to a EUCOM Liaison Officer, 
EUCOM has complied fully with the mandatory reporting requirements 
established in a 30 April 2009 ordinance from the health 
authorities.  End Comment.) 
 
Tally of sources 
---------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU)  In 44 of the 68 (total, to date) cases, the infection 
occurred in the US, nine cases occurred in Mexico, and one each in 
England, Canada, Argentina, and Panama. Eleven of the infections 
were transmitted among seven families of Germans who returned from 
travel, at a hospital, and the airport. 
 
 
KOENIG