VZCZCXRO0172
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #1025 2370526
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 250526Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5002
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0153
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0404
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 8234
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC 0173
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0840
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1552
UNCLAS BERLIN 001025
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: 14,325 CONFIRMED CASES
REF: A) Berlin 1023, B) Berlin 1014 and previous.
1. (U) SUMMARY: The number of confirmed H1N1 infections in
Germany increased over the weekend by 585 cases, bringing the
total as of August 24 to 14,325. Local health officials said
that the recent Berlin World Championship in Athletics had no
impact on the increase in H1N1 cases in the capital. END
SUMMARY
2. (U) At its August 24 press briefing, the National
Reference
Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI)
confirmed a total of 585 new (laboratory and non-laboratory)
H1N1 cases in Germany, increasing the total number of H1N1
cases to 14,325.
New cases were distributed among the federal states as
follows: Baden-Wuerttemberg (119), North Rhine-Westphalia
(111), Schleswig-Holstein (82), Bavaria (74), Lower-Saxony
(36), Hesse (30), Saxony (17), Berlin (14), Rhineland-
Palatinate (65), Hamburg (11), Saxony-Anhalt (11), Saarland
(9), Thuringia (4) and Brandenburg (2),
3. (U) According to RKI, 362 of the total 585 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) North Rhine-Westphalia remains the German state with
the highest number of confirmed virus cases with a total of
4,728, followed by Lower-Saxony (2,321) and Baden-
Wuerttemberg (1,816 cases). About 24 percent (3,375) of all
confirmed infections in Germany have resulted from domestic
transmission.
Despite International Sport Event, No Spike In H1N1 Cases
----------------------------------------
5. (U) Fears that the 12th International Association of
Athletics Federation (IAAF) Championship in Athletics which
took place August 15-23, 2009 in Berlin and attracted some 1.3
million spectators would lead to a spread of the new virus did
not materialize. Berlin Senate Health official Dr. Stefan
Poloczek told us on August 21 that there has not been a new
virus infection reported that was associated with the major
sport event. The rate of increase in H1N1 infections over the
past week has been moderate, he said, stating that the Berlin
Senate does not expect that the championship will have had a
noteworthy impact on the flu infection development in Berlin
(Note: from August 15- 21, 51 new infections were confirmed in
Berlin. End Note). To date, Berlin has reported 338 virus
infections.
MURPHY