VZCZCXRO9717
RR RUEHPB RUEHPT
DE RUEHBY #0659/01 1980518
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170518Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1788
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 0024
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0499
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 0199
RUEHOR/AMEMBASSY GABORONE 0016
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 5483
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 0050
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 0434
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 0245
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 2023
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0505
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 0161
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0316
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 1761
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA 1562
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0048
RUEHWD/AMEMBASSY WINDHOEK 0064
RUEHBN/AMCONSUL MELBOURNE 6517
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 4782
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 4753
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 000659 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO PROG PREL AS
SUBJECT: DATA COLLECTION OF HOST GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS 
RE H1N1 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 73971 
     ¶B. CANBERRA 639 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Australia has only undertaken a limited number of 
the interventions listed in reftel (as reported by Post 
sitreps since April - ref B).  We have listed below the steps 
Australia has taken and dates they were reported. 
 
¶2.   (SBU)  Interventions: 
4/28/09     Making influenza a notifiable disease 
 
NA    Emergency declarations (Australia never declared H1N1 
an emergency) 
 
4/28/09     Isolation policies 
 
NA    Quarantine of households where infection identified 
(Australia never implemented forced quarantines, but relied 
on voluntary quarantine measures until authorities shifted to 
PROTECT phase in June.) 
 
5/21/09     School closure (school closures were the 
responsibility of state and school authorities.  We are 
unaware of any GOA request to close a school.) 
 
NA          Theater closure 
 
NA          Dance hall closure 
 
NA          Other closure 
 
NA          Staggered business hours to reduce congestion in 
stores 
 
and on transit systems 
 
NA          Mask ordinances 
 
NA          Rules forbidding crowding on streetcars 
 
NA          Private funerals 
 
NA          Ban on door-to-door sales 
 
NA          Interventions designed to reduce transmission in 
the 
Workplace (Australian government agencies posted flu 
awareness notices but we are unaware of a specific order to 
do so) 
 
5/21/09     Protective sequestration of children (GOA only 
asked that children suspected of infection not attend school) 
 
NA          Ban on public gatherings 
 
NA          No-crowding rules in locations other than transit 
systems 
 
NA          Community-wide business closures 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Health Situation:  As reported in reftels, the GOA 
has not altered their response posture since 17 June, but 
confirms that all jurisdictions are now compliant with the 
PROTECT phase of the Australian national pandemic response 
plan.  The Department of Health and Aging continues to 
monitor the situation, and increasing case numbers and deaths 
as Australia moves through its seasonal influenza phase have 
kept H1N1 on the front burner as a public health issue. 
Health Minister Roxon told media on July 16 that H1N1 has the 
potential to kill 6000 Australians as a "worst case 
 
CANBERRA 00000659  002 OF 002 
 
 
scenario".  This estimate was based on no intervention 
including antiviral treatment and vaccines.  Australia has 
ordered 21 million doses of vaccine to be ready in October. 
Post spoke with Dr. Andrea Foarde at the Department of Health 
and Ageing National Incident Room for H1N1 on July 17. 
Foarde is responsible for liasing with Australian hospitals. 
Foarde said that GOA is working to improve reporting from 
hospitals in a timely manner but acknowledged that 
information is still not flowing from hospitals in real time. 
 Current government view is that hospitals are stressed but 
generally managing the surging case load.  She did note that 
New South Wales hospitals are considering purchasing 
additional ECMO machines in light of recent use to treat the 
most severe H1N1 cases (see below).  Foarde said GOA is 
currently exploring whether death rates of H1N1 in other 
countries have jumped as patients are removed from 
ventilation support.  Foarde also confirmed that H1N1 is 
largely supplanting the normal Brisbane flu in cases in 
Australia. 
¶4.  (SBU) New South Wales health officials have estimated 
that approximately 30% of New South Wales population could 
experience symptoms of Pandemic (H1N1)2009 infection over the 
next few months as August is usually the month with the 
largest number of flu cases.  New South Wales modeling 
indicates that there could be a similar numbers of 
H1N1-related deaths in New South Wales as regularly occur 
with seasonal influenza each year, but the age profile will 
differ (around 1000 people die each year from normal seasonal 
influenza in New South Wales).  Nearly 250 people in South 
Australia will take part in human trials of a Pandemic 
(H1N1)2009 vaccine this month.  If trials go well, a vaccine 
could be available as early as September. 
¶5. (SBU) Six healthy young people in Sydney have been put on 
cardiac bypass machines because their lungs are too damaged 
or infected for regular mechanical ventilation.  This surge 
in patients needing cardiac bypass is putting a strain on 
intensive care units, staff and machines.  A hospital 
official suggested to the press that the number of cases of 
acute respiratory distress could threaten the capacity of the 
system, but there was enough existing capacity to handle the 
current case load.  Hospitals were reported to be either 
deferring all elective procedures or reviewing whether to 
restrict elective procedures in order to free up resources. 
New South Wales health officials reported on July 17 that 
emergency room presentations with flu-like symptoms are four 
times higher than the highest seasonal peak in the last six 
years.   In NSW, one-quarter of those assessed by an 
influenza clinic (set up in all states to handle flu 
presentations) required anti-influenza medication and one in 
six required referral to a hospital for assessment/treatment. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Case Count:  Since the outbreak of H1N1, Australia 
Q6. (SBU) Case Count:  Since the outbreak of H1N1, Australia 
has confirmed a total of 11962 cases.  Public health 
officials have estimate that the total number of actual cases 
exceeds 500,000.  As of July 17, there are 31 total 
fatalities in Australia.  1332 cases have required 
hospitalization. 
CLUNE