INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Vietnam - June 30 Avian Influenza Report

Published: Fri 30 Jun 2006 09:45 AM
VZCZCXRO5854
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #1629/01 1810945
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 300945Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2588
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY PRIORITY 1438
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 2947
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 5536
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG PRIORITY 0939
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU PRIORITY 0689
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 0246
RUEHRO/USMISSION UN ROME PRIORITY
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI PRIORITY 1386
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA PRIORITY
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//USDP/ISA/AP// PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC//J2/J3/J5//
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-3//
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J00/J2/J3/J5//
RHEFAFM/DIRAFMIC FT DETRICK MD//MA-1A//
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001629
SIPDIS
STATE FOR G, CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, EAP/EX, EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, INR, OES/STC
(PBATES), OES/IHA (DSINGER AND NCOMELLA), AND MED
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE AND GH (DCARROLL, SCLEMENTS AND
PCHAPLIN)
STATE PASS TO USTR (EBRYAN)
STATE PASS TO HHS/OGHA (WSTIEGER, EELVANDER AND ABHAT)
USDA PASS TO APHIS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (LSTERN)
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID (MFRIEDMAN, JMACARTHUR AND MBRADY)
ROME FOR FAO
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KFLU AMED AMGT CASC EAGR PINR SOCI VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM - JUNE 30 AVIAN INFLUENZA REPORT
HANOI 00001629 001.2 OF 002
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
REF: HANOI 1280 AND PREVIOUS
1. (U) Summary. The Government of Vietnam (GVN) will resume
breeding of duck hatchlings starting in July. The breeding of
waterfowl such as duck and geese was suspended in November 2005.
State media continues to report that the national poultry
vaccination campaign is behind schedule, with nineteen cities and
provinces in Vietnam having completed the first round of
vaccinations in 2006 and thirteen cities and provinces conducting
the second injections of the first round, which was expected to be
completed by the end of May. The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) announced its support for a
public-private partnership to strengthen the capacity of
veterinarians and poultry farmers by upgrading animal health
information systems, improving bio-safety measures of small poultry
farmers, and providing AI educational materials in Thai Nguyen
Province. The GVN continues to report no AI outbreaks in poultry or
humans over the past seven months. End Summary.
2. (U) Vietnamese state media reported on June 29 that the Animal
Health Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development (MARD) has decided to allow the breeding of duck
hatchlings starting in July. The breeding of waterfowl such as
ducks and geese was suspended in November 2005. In February 2006,
the MARD allowed chicken breeders to resume production, and farmers
have since been required to immunize day-old hatchlings before
selling them. Seven months ago, the H5N1 incident rate among
waterfowl was reportedly as high as 80 percent in monitored areas.
It is believed that waterfowl can carry the H5N1 virus without
showing symptoms.
3. (U) State media continues to report that the national poultry
vaccination campaign is "seriously lagging behind schedule." In a
Nhan Dan Newspaper article dated June 28, the Animal Husbandry
Department of MARD stated that 110.6 million poultry have been
vaccinated of the 130 million planned to be vaccinated by the end of
May. (NOTE: These are the same figures reported in press on June 4.
END NOTE) The same article reported that nineteen cities and
provinces in Vietnam have completed the first round of vaccinations
while thirteen cities and provinces are currently conducting the
second injections of the first round. The department blamed the
slowdown on a shortage of funds and a growing complacency among
local governments because Vietnam has not experienced any poultry
outbreaks in poultry since December.
4. (U) State media reported on June 27 that the Ministry of Health
had not yet received an official confirmation from the World Health
Organization regarding the information of human-to-human
transmission of AI in Sumatra, Indonesia. In Vietnam, Vice Director
of the Health Provision Department of MOH Dr Nguyen Van Binh
informed the press that no human-to-human transmission has been
documented in Vietnam, although there have been reported cases of
two or three family members dieing as a result of the disease.
5. (U) USAID announced its support for a new public-private
alliance to help prevent AI outbreaks in poultry, bringing the total
2006 USG assistance for AI in Vietnam to over USD 7 million. This
new alliance represents a joint effort between USAID, the GVN,
provincial Sub-Departments of Animal Health, Agronomies and
Veterinaires Sans Frontiers (AVSF), Pfizer Animal Health Group,
HANOI 00001629 002.2 OF 002
Synbiotics, Evilais, Proconco and other agricultural businesses.
6. (U) With an initial investment of USD 55,000 investment, USAID's
Global Development Alliance is leveraging funds provided by the
private sector to support efforts to strengthen the capacity of
veterinarians and poultry farmers as they work to prevent and
control AI outbreaks in Vietnam. The nine-month project, with an
estimated budget of USD $185,000, will start by providing support to
veterinarians in Thai Nguyen Province to improve their diagnosis of
AI, train veterinarians on AI epidemiological processes and tools,
upgrade GVN's animal health information systems, improve the
bio-safety measures of small poultry farmers, and provide national
dissemination of AI educational materials. USAID's AI programs
focus on five key objectives for improved readiness and response
capacity: planning and preparedness, surveillance, outbreak
response, communications, and stockpiling essential supplies and
equipment.
7. (U) As of June 30, 2006:
-- No human AI deaths since October 29, 2005
-- No human AI cases since November 14, 2005
-- No AI outbreaks in poultry since the last reported incident on
Dec. 17, 2005 in Cao Bang Province
Marine
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media