VZCZCXRO9484
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #0714 1670558
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160558Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4349
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 9923
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0346
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 8042
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC 0114
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0756
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1475

UNCLAS BERLIN 000714 
 
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: 172 CONFIRMED CASES 
 
REF:  A) Berlin 710, B) Berlin 704, C) Berlin 695, D) Berlin 
686, E) Berlin 672, F) Berlin 663, G) Berlin 657, H) Berlin 
641, I) Berlin 626, J) Berlin 545, K) Berlin 537, L) Berlin 
526, M) Berlin 518, N) Berlin 512, O) Berlin 495, P) Berlin 
488 
 
¶1. (SBU)  SUMMARY:  The number of H1N1 cases in Germany rose 
to 172 on June 15, as fifty-six more people were confirmed to 
be infected with the new virus over the weekend.  The day also 
brought the first confirmed H1N1 case in Berlin.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  On June 15, the National Reference Center for 
Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced in its 
press briefing fifty-six new laboratory-confirmed cases of 
H1N1 in Germany.  This increases the total number of confirmed 
cases in Germany to 172.  The new cases were distributed among 
the federal states as follows: North Rhine-Westphalia (45), 
Baden-Wuerttemberg (2), Brandenburg (1), Hesse (3), Bavaria 
(2), Saxony (1) and Lower-Saxony (2). 
 
 
Rapid Increase in Infections 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Following the cases noted in Ref A, RKI reported 
five new cases on June 12, raising that day's tally to 116. 
The rate of infections rapidly increased over the weekend, 
spiking with 52 new cases on June 13 and increasing the number 
of infections to 168.  Four more cases were confirmed on 
Monday, June 15, raising the total cases to 172. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  The majority of new confirmed cases in North Rhine- 
Westphalia involve children at the Japanese international 
school in Duesseldorf (Ref A, B) who tested positive for H1N1 
last week.  As reported in Ref B, the school has been 
temporarily closed to minimize the risk of further 
transmission to other children.  The media also reported about 
a 33-year old man from Cottbus (Brandenburg) who was confirmed 
to have the virus. He reportedly returned from a trip to the 
US with flu-like symptoms at the beginning of June.  Health 
officials from Brandenburg report that he and his family are 
under quarantine at home. 
 
 
First H1N1 case in Berlin 
------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU)  The State Laboratory Berlin-Brandeburg (LLBB) 
confirmed over the weekend a 23-year old woman from Treptow- 
Koepenick (Berlin) to be infected with the virus.  The woman 
returned from a trip to Duesseldorf over the weekend and 
showed flu-like symptoms. She had not traveled outside the 
country.  She went to the hospital Saturday in Berlin, where 
the virus was detected.  Media report that the woman and her 
family are under quarantine at home, with a mild course of the 
virus.  This represents the first confirmed case of H1N1 for 
the Federal State of Berlin. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  The Berlin Senate for Health, Environment and 
Consumer confirmed on June 15 that the state has antiviral 
medication to treat 20% of its population (680,000 units). 
Despite the relatively low number of confirmed cases in the 
capital city, health officials from the Berlin Senate have 
advised the population to start buying mouth protection masks. 
 
 
KOENIG