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RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WELLINGTON 000229 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
STATE PASS TO DEPT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AR AS BC BL BR CI EC FJ ID NZ PA PE PGOV PREL SF
SOCI, TBIO, UY, WA 
SUBJECT: DATA COLLECTION OF NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS RE 
H1N1 
 
REF: A: 09 STATE 73971; B: 09 WELLINGTON 213; C: 09 WELLINGTON 177 
 
1)  (SBU)  The Government of New Zealand (GNZ) has responded to 
H1N1 Influenza A aggressively since the virus was first detected 
here in April 2009 as reported by Post SitReps, cables (see reftel 
B and C) and emails since late April. GNZ's initial intervention 
program was a comprehensive containment policy that sought to delay 
community transmission for as long as possible.  Containment seemed 
to delay community transmission from taking root until late June. 
 
2)  (U)  The following is a list of public health interventions 
instituted by the Government and public health authorities as a 
part of the Containment Strategy in place since April 2009 (reftel 
C). 
 
*         The NZ Ministry of Health (MoH) warned citizens and 
visitors to take standard flu season precautions back in April to 
prevent the spread of the virus.  This included precautions to stay 
at least a meter distant from those exhibiting symptoms, wash hands 
regularly and cover coughs.  Persons who suspected that they had 
H1N1 were asked to stay at home and call a doctor instead of 
visiting an office where other people might become infected. 
Government workers were advised to practice 'social distance' to 
avoid spreading illness. 
 
*         MoH instituted a robust border check program where all 
inbound visitors and citizens were informed of H1N1 and its 
symptoms.  Visitors and citizens were required to fill out locator 
forms in case they were later determined to be at risk of having 
the virus due to contact with other confirmed cases.  In the 
meantime, all suspected cases were swabbed and tested, at ports of 
entry and at clinics and hospitals. 
 
*         All suspected and confirmed cases, as well as those in 
close contact with confirmed cases were immediately asked to 
self-isolate (the Government assisted visitors to NZ with this by 
providing for hotel rooms at the expense of the Crown), and were 
provided with a course of Tamiflu free of charge.  These cases were 
visited by a health official when possible to follow up.  All 
confirmed cases until late June were clearly connected with 
international travel. 
 
*         Vaccination for seasonal Influenza was urged by the 
government to reduce strain on the healthcare system. The shot was 
made free to all NZ citizens to encourage vaccination in late June. 
 
*         School closures had been under discussion since April 
when the first cases NZ were detected in a group of students 
returning from Mexico. There have been no full school closures to 
date, although a few schools have requested that whole classes stay 
at home for a week. 
 
*         In reaction to the continuing spread of the virus, H1N1 
Influenza A was made a notifiable disease on June 8, 2009. 
 
3)  (U)  After sustained community transmission was detected and 
H1N1 was not as severe as previously feared, MoH moved on from 
Containment to Management of the pandemic. Management consists of 
focused care on those who are at high risk of severe illness 
resulting from H1N1, requesting the population self-treat what will 
be a mostly mild to moderate illness, and boosting resources to 
regional health authorities.  Tamiflu is still available at 
pharmacies to those in the general public that exhibit flu-like 
 
WELLINGTON 00000229  002 OF 002 
 
 
symptoms for around NZ$75.  The retroviral drug is no longer being 
freely distributed to all suspected and confirmed cases.  This is 
the response strategy currently in place as H1N1 makes its way 
through the population, and supersedes Containment protocols in 
terms of Tamiflu distribution and swabbing for tests. 
 
4)  (U)  In 2006, the NZ Treasury modeled the economic impact of a 
'mild' influenza pandemic  on the economy at 0.7 percent of GDP. 
In a July 3 2009 paper, the NZ Treasury revised its projection and 
stated that the impact from the current influence is likely to be 
"much less than the lower bound of 0.7 percent of GDP as modeled in 
the 2006 Treasury paper".  Current NZ GDP is NZD 132 billion. 
 
5)  (SBU)  Comment.  NZ's containment strategy is only possible 
because there are very few ports of entry into the country to 
screen, and because the population is relatively small.  The NZ 
public has mostly heeded advice from the government to contain H1N1 
transmission. This has likely assisted in delaying sustained 
community transmission of H1N1 until June.  As noted in reftel B, 
GNZ has made efficient use of available resources to combat the 
spread of the virus by actively informing the general population 
with key advice, focusing resources on those that are likely to 
become severely ill and managing the load on the national 
healthcare system by encouraging vaccination for seasonal flu. 
Some health districts are concerned about heavy demand pushing 
hospital resources to the limit, but there have been no reported 
problems as of yet.  GNZ's task has been made far easier by the 
small size of the NZ general population and the ability of the 
Government to react quickly. End comment. 
WALSH