VZCZCXRO2366
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #1046 2391217
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271217Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5034
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0170
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0406
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 8237
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC 0175
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0842
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1554

UNCLAS BERLIN 001046 
 
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: H1N1 UPDATE: 14,940 CONFIRMED CASES 
 
REF:  A) Berlin 1039, B) Berlin 1025 and previous. 
 
¶1. (U)  SUMMARY: The number of confirmed H1N1 infections in 
Germany increased slightly by 359 cases, bringing the total as 
of August 26 to 14,940.  The state of North Rhine-Westphalia 
proposes protection for pregnant women working with flu 
patients.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (U)  At its August 26 press briefing, the National 
Reference 
Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) 
confirmed a total of 359 new (laboratory and non-laboratory) 
H1N1 cases in Germany, increasing the total number of H1N1 
cases to 14,940.  New cases were distributed among the federal 
states as follows: North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) (101), Baden- 
Wuerttemberg (98), Bavaria (44), Lower-Saxony (34), Hesse 
(24), Schleswig-Holstein (13), Brandenburg (12), Rhineland- 
Palatinate (12), Hamburg (6), Saarland (5), Saxony-Anhalt (5), 
Thuringia (3), Saxony (1) and Berlin (1). 
 
¶3. (U)  According to RKI, 225 of the total 359 new cases are 
attributed to people returning from travel abroad.  New cases 
include non-laboratory H1N1 cases that exhibited symptoms 
after being in contact with a laboratory confirmed infected 
person. 
 
¶4. (U)  NRW remains the German state with the highest number 
of confirmed virus cases with a total of 4,869, followed by 
Lower-Saxony (2,355) and Baden-Wuerttemberg (1,991 cases). 
About 24 percent (3,583) of all confirmed infections in 
Germany have resulted from domestic transmission. 
 
¶5. (U)  Following WHO's warning that there is an increased 
risk for pregnant women of complications from the new flu, NRW 
health officials have recommended that employers grant excused 
absences to pregnant employees with potentially high exposure 
to infected patients.  This applies to hospitals and medical 
practices.  To date, about one third of the reported H1N1 
infections in Germany occurred in NRW. 
 
 
MURPHY