VZCZCXRO0318
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #1236 2751537
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021537Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5369
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0296
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0417
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0861
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1567

UNCLAS BERLIN 001236 
 
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 GM
SUBJECT: H1N1 UPDATE: 21,129 CONFIRMED CASES 
 
REF:  A) Berlin 1201, B) Berlin 1163 and previous. 
 
¶1. (U)  SUMMARY: The number of confirmed H1N1 infections in 
Germany rose by 481 cases to a total of 21,129 on October 2. 
RKI and ECDC have confirmed the first H1N1 death in Germany. 
Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that 
the H1N1 vaccine will be delivered to Germany in the coming 
week; however, the majority of Germans are reluctant to get 
vaccinated. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (U)  At its October 2 press briefing, the National 
Reference Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute 
(RKI) confirmed a total of 481 new (laboratory and non- 
laboratory) H1N1 cases in Germany over yesterday, increasing 
the total number of H1N1 cases to 21,129.  New cases were 
distributed among thirteen of the sixteen federal states as 
follows: Bavaria (203), North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) (71), 
Hesse (57), Brandenburg (32), Berlin (25), Schleswig-Holstein 
(21), Baden-Wuerttemberg (16), Thuringia (16), Hamburg (11), 
Lower-Saxony (10), Rhineland-Palatinate (7), Saxony (7) and 
Saxony-Anhalt (5). 
 
¶3. (U)  The number of new confirmed cases that have resulted 
from domestic transmission has increased over the past few 
weeks and is now 75 percent.  RKI announced on October 2 that 
it will no longer make the distinction in its reporting 
between new cases attributed to people returning from travel 
abroad or domestic transmission.  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 5,879, followed by 
Baden-Wuerttemberg (3,148 cases) and  Bavaria (3,030). 
 
 
H1N1 Vaccine Soon to be Delivered 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Following the EU Commission approval of the H1N1 
vaccine for Europe on September 30, a speaker from Dresden- 
based pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) confirmed 
today that the new vaccine will be delivered to Germany in the 
coming week.  The German government has ordered 50 million 
doses from GSK.  GSK began producing the new vaccine 
"Pandemrix" in late June to avoid delivery shortages in the 
fall. (Note: The EU has approved the vaccine "Focetria" 
produced by Norvatis and GSK's Pandemrix.  End Note). 
 
 
Fewer Germans Interested in H1N1 Vaccination 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶6. (U)  An opinion poll conducted by the market research 
institute Forsa on September 30 shows that the majority of 
Germans are still reluctant to receive the H1N1 vaccination. 
Germany ordered vaccine for 30 percent of its population, 
butonly 21 percent of the 500 Germans polled said they would 
get the H1N1 vaccination.  People over 60 years of age as well 
as those from the East (27%) were more in favor of getting the 
vaccination. 
 
First German H1N1 Death Confirmed 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U)  The European Center for Disease Control(ECDC) and RKI 
confirmed on October 2 the first German H1N1 death. As 
reported in REF A, the woman from Gelsenkirchen died on 
September 25.  Final tests have now shown that the H1N1 virus 
was the main factor in her death. 
 
 
MURPHY