Cablegate: H1n1 Spikes by Over a Third in a Week: 10,368 New

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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #1418 3131520
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091520Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5716
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BERLIN 001418

AMCONSUL FRANKFURT
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS
DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
USMISSION GENEVA

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 Spikes By Over a Third in a Week: 10,368 New
Cases; 5 New Deaths

REF: Berlin 1389 and previous

1. (U) SUMMARY: From October 26 to November 1, the number of
confirmed H1N1 infections in Germany rose by 10,368 cases to
40,271 total cases. Five more deaths were reported in Germany
due to H1N1 increasing the total number of death to eleven.
END SUMMARY

2. (U) At its November 9 press briefing, the National
Reference Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute
(RKI) confirmed a total of 10,368 new (laboratory and non-
laboratory) H1N1 cases in Germany over the period October 26
to November 1, increasing the total number of H1N1 cases to
40,271. Bavaria (bordering the Czech Republic and Austria)
remains the German state with the highest number of confirmed
virus cases with a total of 12,590, followed by Nordrhein-
Westfalen (8,468) and Baden-Wuerttemberg(5,395).

Five more German H1N1 Deaths
------------------------------

3. (U) On November 5, RKI confirmed the deaths of three
patients due to H1N1. One person from Rhineland-Palatinate, a
52-year old woman from Baden-Wuerttemberg and a 40-year old
man from Berlin died on November 4 in Germany due to the new
virus. In all three cases, the patients were considered to be
"risk patients" and had underlying health conditions.

4. (U) Media reports indicate that two more people infected
with H1N1 have died. A 15-year old student from Kassel (Hesse)
died on November 6 of heart disease. She had been hospitalized
and was infected with the new flu. A 55-year old woman died
at Dusseldorf University Hospital on November 7 of H1N1. The
patient reportedly came from Iran and traveled to Dusseldorf
for treatment. The woman had suffered from a chronic disease
before the infection. This increases the H1N1 deaths in
Germany to eleven.

Skepticism over H1N1 vaccine vanishes; Germany worried about
vaccine shortage
-------------------------------

5. (U) Two weeks after the beginning of the national
vaccination campaign against H1N1, the initial skepticism over
the vaccine has reportedly vanished in Germany. Health
officials from the federal states are reporting a significant
increase in those seeking H1N1 vaccinations. However, some
federal states have reported a supply shortage due to
production shortfalls, creating waiting lists for those
seeking the vaccine. In reaction to this development, Federal
Health Minister Philipp Roesler (FDP) has called for a health
ministers' conference for this Wednesday to assess the new flu
situation in Germany and to discuss potential weaknesses in
the national vaccination supply scheme.

MURPHY

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