Cablegate: Spike of H1n1 Cases - 53,957 Total; 5 New Deaths

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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #1451 3201551
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161551Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5785
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0885
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1571

UNCLAS BERLIN 001451

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: Spike of H1N1 Cases - 53,957 Total; 5 New Deaths

REF: Berlin 1418 and previous

1. (U) SUMMARY: From November 2-8, the number of confirmed
H1N1 infections in Germany rose by 14,890 cases to a total of
53,957 cases. Five more H1N1 related deaths were reported in
Germany, increasing the total number of deaths to sixteen.
Germany plans to order 150,000 doses of a non-adjuvant vaccine
for pregnant women. END SUMMARY

2. (U) At its November 16 press briefing, the National
Reference Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute
(RKI) confirmed a total of 14,890 new (laboratory and non-
laboratory) H1N1 cases in Germany from November 2 to November
8, increasing the total number of H1N1 cases to 53,957.
Bavaria remains the German state with the highest number of
confirmed virus cases, with a total of 19,674, followed by
Nord Rhine-Westphalia (9,747) and Baden-Wuerttemberg (6,753).

Five more German H1N1 Deaths
-----------------------------
3. (U) RKI has confirmed the deaths of five additional
patients due to H1N1. Three people from Bavaria aged 33, 52
and 63, and two from Nordrhein-Westphalia, aged 32 and 25,
died in Germany due to the new virus. In all cases, the
individuals were considered to be "risk patients" and had
underlying health conditions. This increases the number of
H1N1 deaths in Germany to sixteen.

4. (U) Media reports indicate that a 55-year old man from
Thuringia died on November 12, shortly after receiving the
H1N1 vaccination. It is unclear at this point if he died due
to an adverse reaction to the vaccine or to a pre-existing
medical condition. RKI has not yet confirmed that his death
was caused by H1N1.

Germany to order non-adjuvant vaccine for pregnant women
--------------------------------------------- ----------
5. (U) At a meeting with the state health ministers on
November 11, Federal Health Minister Philipp RQsler called on
the German population to allow medical personnel and sick
people to be vaccinated first. A mass vaccination will not be
possible before December, due to supply shortages. At the
conference, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
confirmed plans to increase the production of H1N1 vaccine in
the coming weeks; however, the amount it will be able to
deliver will still fall short of what the German states are
expecting. GSK plans to deliver 20 million doses of the 50
million doses ordered by the end of the year. The remaining
30 million doses will be delivered in the first quarter of
2010.

6. (U) At the conference, the minister and the federal states
agreed to order 150,000 doses of a non-adjuvant vaccine for
pregnant woman produced by Australian pharmaceutical company
CSL. The vaccine is expected as early as the end of November.

MURPHY

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