VZCZCXYZ0024
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #1004 1661430
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151430Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5137
INFO RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 4804
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 8614

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001004 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR NEA/IPA; OES/IB FOR WINN; DEPT PASS TO USAID FOR 
ANE/MEA:MCCLOUD/BORODIN; DEPT PASS TO USDA; HHS FOR CDC AND 
OGHA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU SENV ECON EAGR EAID KWBG IS
SUBJECT: TWO H1N1 CASES CONFIRMED IN THE WEST BANK 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministry of 
Health officials have confirmed two cases of H1N1 in the West 
Bank (Bethlehem).  A four-year-old girl was diagnosed on June 
10, and her mother on June 13.  Both cases were characterized 
as "mild," and the patients are expected to recover fully, 
according to WHO contacts.  The Ministry of Health expects an 
increase in the number of cases as summer travel picks up. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Dr. Assad Ramlavi, General Director of Primary 
Health Care and Public Health in the PA Ministry of Health, 
confirmed to Econoff on June 15 that a four-year-old girl and 
her mother in Bethlehem have been diagnosed with H1N1.  The 
child reportedly developed a fever after returning from 
Texas, and was diagnosed on June 10. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The confirmation was made as part of a coordinated 
process with the GOI, according to WHO Public Health Officer 
Katija Schemionek.  First, the girl was admitted into Caritas 
hospital in Bethlehem, and a "nasal-pharynx" swab was taken 
and sent to a hospital in Ramallah.  The Ramallah hospital 
confirmed the "H1" portion of the diagnosis, and then in 
coordination with the GOI MoH, the sample was sent to a lab 
in Tel Aviv, where the final confirmation was made.  The 
mother's case was confirmed in the hospital lab in Ramallah 
on June 13.  WHO contacts characterized the coordination 
between the PA and GOI Health Ministries as "excellent" on 
epidemics and related technical issues. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Both the child and her mother are being treated with 
Tamiflu, according to Dr. Ramlavi.  He said that although 
they are not officially "quarantined," they are not leaving 
the home in Bethlehem, are wearing masks, and health workers 
in Bethlehem monitor their situation daily.  Another relative 
who lives in the house displayed flu-like symptoms, but 
tested negative for H1N1 on June 14.  Dr. Ramlavi noted that 
hospitals in the West Bank are seeing an increasing number of 
suspected cases, and he expects the number of real cases to 
rise as the summer travel season continues. 
WALLES