Cablegate: H1n1 Cases Continue to Skyrocket in Germany; New Low-

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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #1500 3281545
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241545Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5889
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 8329
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0898
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1576

UNCLAS BERLIN 001500

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 Cases Continue to Skyrocket in Germany; New Low-
Pathogenic AI (H5) Virus Appears in Poultry

REF: Berlin 1451 and previous

1. (U) SUMMARY: From November 7-13, the number of confirmed
H1N1 infections in Germany rose by 26,579 cases to a total of
86,654 cases. This is the third consecutive week with an
approximately 30 percent increase in the number of confirmed
H1N1 cases. The number of H1N1 deaths in Germany increased to
forty-one. 25 cases of low-pathogenic avian influenza (H5)
were reported in Thuringia. END SUMMARY

2. (U) At its weekly press briefing on November 23, the
National
Reference Center for Influenza at the Robert Koch Institute
(RKI) confirmed a total of 26,579 new laboratory H1N1 cases in
Germany from November 7 to November 13, increasing the total
number of H1N1 cases to 86,654 (Comment: As of November 8,
non-laboratory cases are no longer included in RKI's
reporting. End Comment) Bavaria remains the German state
with the highest number of confirmed virus cases, with a total
of 25,280, followed by Nord Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) (15,769)
and Baden-Wuerttemberg (10,258).

German H1N1 Deaths Increase
---------------------------

3. (U) As of November 24, RKI has confirmed the deaths of
forty-one patients due to H1N1. The deaths are distributed
among the German states as follows: NRW (17), Bavaria (11),
Baden-Wuerttemberg (2), Thuringia (2), Hesse (2), Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern (1), Lower-Saxony (2), Rhineland-Palatinate (1),
Saarland (1), Berlin (1) and Saxony (1). In the majority of
cases, the patients had underlying health conditions and were
considered to be "risk patients". We are aware of four cases
(2 NRW, 1 Hesse, 1 Saxony) in which patients reportedly had no
underlying health conditions.

Low-Pathogenic H5 Virus in Poultry Identified in Thuringia
--------------------------------------------- ---

4. (U) On November 20, 25 cases of H5 low-pathogen avian
influenza (LPAI) were confirmed at a poultry farm in state of
Thuringia. The cases, which were immediately notified to the
OIE, had a reported 1.03 percent apparent mortality and
morbidity rate. The previous case of LPAI in Germany occurred
on April 28, 2009.

MURPHY

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