US embassy cable - 05ATHENS2715

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 002715 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC, TBIO, GR, AVIANFLU 
SUBJECT: BIRD FLU IN GREECE; AUTHORITIES TESTING FOR H5N1 
VARIANT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 183776 
 
1.  (SBU) Minister of Agricultural Development Basiakos 
announced October 17 that the first case of avian influenza 
(H5) has occurred in Greece.  Basiakos noted that the 
affected birds lived on the small island of Oinousses, near 
Chios, in the eastern Aegean.  According to Angelos Hatzakis, 
Chairman of the Center for the Control and Prevention of 
Diseases, the Athens lab of the Veterinary Department found 
the presence of the virus in a live bird from the affected 
flock of 30 birds, of which 10 have died.  In order to 
ascertain the exact strain of the virus found, the GOG has 
sent samples to the state reference laboratory in 
Thessaloniki.  In a related development, ANA reports that 
three dead birds have been found at Evros, near the 
Greco-Turkish border; the carcasses have been forwarded to 
the Thessaloniki testing facility. 
 
2.  (U) The Agriculture Ministry announced October 18 that it 
was banning the movement of poultry products to and from the 
area around Oinousses:  "After coordinating with Commissioner 
on Health and Consumer's protection issues Markos Kyprianou 
and the competent Veterinary Authorities of the EU, we 
instructed the Prefecture of Chios to forbid, strictly for 
precautionary reasons, the forwarding of live poultry, meat 
of poultry and other poultry products from the Prefecture of 
Chios to the other Prefectures of the country, the 
country-members of the European Union and to third countries." 
 
3.  (U) ANA notes that the Greek authorities have informed 
the European Commission of the developments.  For its part, 
the EC has issued the following statement: "The samples are 
in the process of being sent for confirmation and virus 
isolation tests to the national reference laboratory in 
Thessaloniki, and the Commission requested that they also be 
sent immediately to the Community Reference Laboratory in 
Weybridge, England." 
 
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Embassy Receives Low Number of AmCit Calls 
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4.  (SBU) So far post has received a limited number of calls 
from concerned U.S. citizens.  Post is currently drafting a 
warden message along the lines used by Embassy Ankara to be 
released through the warden network and on the Embassy 
website should the Thessaloniki lab confirm the presence of 
H5N1 virus in the dead birds. 
 
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Press Reaction under Control ... So Far 
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5.  (SBU) The Greek media has been fairly restrained in its 
reporting, mostly sticking to the facts.  Although some 
television journalists have been painting an apocalyptic 
picture of what this means to Greece, the experts they have 
interviewed on their programs have stressed that people 
should not panic and that the GoG is taking the proper steps 
to examine and contain the outbreak.  News reports are also 
saying that demand for flu shots has ballooned.  According to 
Kathimerini, the National Pharmaceutical Organization took 
anti-viral medicines off the over-the-counter list as panic 
buying emptied pharmacies of the medicine. 
 
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Economic Effects Potentially Serious 
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6.  (SBU) The economic effects of the potential outbreak 
could be serious, extending from agriculture to tourism and 
beyond.  In the near term, the ban on the movement of poultry 
products from the Chios prefecture will be fairly limited in 
its economic impact.  Should the dead Turkeys from Oinoussa 
be found to have suffered from the H5N1 virus, however, or 
should birds in other parts of Greece be found to have flu, 
the impact on the agricultural sector could grow quickly. The 
initial effect on tourism has been to reduce the travel of 
Greeks to other countries hit by avian influenza, Turkey and 
Romania.  According to Kathimerini, Greece's National Tourism 
Organization has developed action plans to deal with the 
impact of a finding that the flu strain found in Greece is 
dangerous to humans. 
 
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Comment 
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7.  (SBU) Although the announcement that avian flu had hit 
Greece has been front page news, the real health impact of 
the news is fairly minor.  Only a limited number of birds in 
Greece have been affected to this point.  Above and beyond 
that, however, there has been no/no mention of any 
possibility of bird-to-human, let alone human-to-human 
transmission of any avian flu in Greece.  We believe the 
Greek Government is moving quickly to establish exactly what 
form of virus affected the dead poultry and will act quickly 
to limit its spread within the country.  Septel(s) will: 
A.  Confirm what type of virus was present in the dead birds; 
B.  Report on preparations GoG is taking to deal with any 
outbreak; 
C.  Report on Embassy meeting of October 14 to implement 
action steps outlined in reftel. 
Post will also clear any information it will place on its 
website and send to wardens with CA via e-mail. 
RIES