Cablegate: H1n1 Update: 12,120 Confirmed Cases

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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #1007 2291527
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171527Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4973
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0136
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0399
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 8229
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC 0168
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0835
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1547

UNCLAS BERLIN 001007

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: 12,120 CONFIRMED CASES

REF: A) Berlin 1001, B) Berlin 997 and previous.

1. (U) SUMMARY: The number of confirmed H1N1 infections in
Germany increased by 627 new cases, bringing the total as of
August 17 to 12,120. The majority of new infections occurred
abroad. The German government plans to order enough vaccine
for 80 percent of its population. END SUMMARY

2. (U) At its August 17 press briefing, the National
Reference
Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI)
confirmed a total of 627 new (laboratory and non-laboratory)
H1N1 cases in Germany over the week end. This increases the
total number of H1N1 cases to 12,120. New cases were
distributed among fifteen federal states: Baden-Wuerttemberg
(196), North Rhine-Westphalia (162), Rhineland-Palatinate
(71), Bavaria (46), Lower-Saxony (45), Hesse (29), Berlin
(11), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (9), Saarland (8), Brandenburg
(24), Saxony (7), Thuringia (7), Hamburg (5), Saxony-Anhalt
(4) and Bremen (3).

3. (U) According to RKI, 482 of the 627 new cases are
attributed to people returning from travel abroad. New cases
include also non-laboratory H1N1 cases from people who
exhibited symptoms after being in contact with a laboratory
confirmed infected person. So far, all new cases are
reportedly mild.

4. (U) North Rhine-Westphalia remains the German state with
the highest number of confirmed virus cases with a total of
4,246, followed by Lower-Saxony (2,065) and Baden-Wuerttemberg
(1,379 cases). About 23 percent (2,746) of all confirmed
infections in Germany have resulted from domestic
transmission.

H1N1 Vaccine for Eighty Percent of the Population
----------------------------------
5. (U) The German Government announced plans to increase the
stockpile of antiviral medication and now plans to obtain
enough vaccine to immunize 80 percent of the population, up
from its prior plan to immunize approximately one-third of the
German population. According to the media, an inoculation
rate of over 80 percent is necessary to stop the spread of the
virus. Germans, however, tend to be vaccine-adverse. Media
reports indicate that fewer than 80 percent are likely to get
immunized against the new virus. (Note: Only 22 percent of
the population in Germany follow the annual recommendation and
gets vaccinated against seasonal influenza.) However, if the
inoculation rate is less than 80 percent, the Government could
sell excess serum abroad, according to media reports.

6. (U) In order to produce enough "Pandenrix", the new H1N1
antiviral medication, Dresden-based pharmaceutical company
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to hire an additional 150 workers.
GSK currently employs 700 workers. The production of
Pandenrix began in July. GSK will produce over 300 million
vaccine doses by fall and will be sent to Europe and parts of
Asia.

BRADTKE

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