VZCZCXRO2785
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2238 3441439
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101439Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6938
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002238 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR NEA/IPA; OES/IB FOR PATTERSON; DEPT PASS TO USAID 
FOR ANE/MEA:MCCLOUD/BORODIN; HHS FOR CDC AND OGHA; NSC FOR 
KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU EAGR EAID ECON KWBG SENV
SUBJECT: H1N1 ARRIVES IN GAZA DESPITE CLOSURE POLICY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  On December 6, the de facto Hamas 
authorities in Gaza announced the first confirmed cases of 
the H1N1 virus.  As of the evening of December 8, health 
workers confirmed 21 cases of H1N1 in Gaza, including five 
fatalities.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On December 6, the Hamas "Ministry of Health" (MOH) 
in Gaza announced the first confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus 
in the coastal strip.  According to the World Health 
Organization (WHO) representative in Gaza, Mahmoud Daher, the 
Hamas MOH confirmed 21 cases, including five fatalities, by 
the evening of December 8.  Four of the victims that died 
were already suffering from underlying illnesses, such as 
respiratory failure.  The fifth death was a child of 15 
months who arrived at a pediatric hospital in critical 
condition and was admitted into the intensive care unit. 
Eight of the confirmed H1N1 cases were released from the 
hospital to recover at home.  Daher said that the "spread of 
H1N1 in Gaza is increasing." 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Hamas MOH identified three isolation units at Al 
Shifa Hospital and Pediatric Hospital, both in Gaza City, and 
Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis.  The Hamas MOH 
protocols dictate that all complicated cases are treated at 
hospitals in isolation and the remaining cases recover at 
home.  Daher said that the capacity for treatment was decent 
in the three isolation units.  According to Daher, the 
Government of Israel (GOI) said that it would accept all 
suspected and confirmed H1N1 cases for treatment. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The MOH of the Palestinian Authority (PA) previously 
shipped 6,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine to Gaza.  Five 
thousand doses were given to Hajj pilgrims before their 
departure to Mecca in the last two months, and 1,000 doses 
were given to health care workers in the last few days.  Dr. 
Mugo Muita of the WHO in Jerusalem told post that the H1N1 
cases in Gaza did not include Hajj pilgrims or anyone who 
recently traveled outside the strip.  The Israeli military 
issued a press release on December 7, falsely stating that it 
had transferred 10,000 doses into Gaza.  The priority 
recipients for the vaccine are health workers, children 
between one and three-years old, pregnant women, and persons 
with chronic diseases.  Approximately 8,000 health 
professionals work in the Hamas MOH, and there are a few 
thousand additional health workers among NGOs and UNRWA.  The 
PA MOH in Ramallah has a contract with pharmaceutical maker 
GlaxoSmithKline to purchase one million doses of the H1N1 
vaccine, to arrive in the West Bank in three tranches in 
mid-December, mid January and mid-February.  Dr. Asad 
Ramlawi, Director General for Primary Health Care of the PA 
MOH, reported that the PA would transfer 150,000 doses of the 
vaccine to Gaza from its first shipment.  The Hamas MOH has 
6,300 treatment courses of Tamiflu (10 tablets per course) 
for H1N1 patients. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Separately, the central drug store in Gaza currently 
is out of stock of 75 essential medicines.  The shortage of 
medicine in Gaza is a chronic problem largely due to lack of 
capacity within the PA in Ramallah; the GOI generally allows 
medicines and medical supplies into Gaza.  Daher said that 
the PA agreed to provide more medicines this week, and that 
the breakout of H1N1 in Gaza prompted the PA to be more 
"proactive" in its supply of medicines. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Daher reported that the WHO met with the Israeli MOH 
this week and emphasized the lack of capacity in the Gaza 
health care system due to the closure policy and 
deteriorating infrastructure, with increased stress from 
population growth. 
RUBINSTEIN