US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE1638

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 001638 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NCE, OES DSINGER AND RDALEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, SENV, ECON, EAGR, EAID, PREL, EZ, Avian Flu 
SUBJECT: CZECH REPUBLIC: AVIAN AND PANDEMIC INFLUENZA 
INFORMATION 
 
REF: A. STATE 209622 
 
     B. PRAGUE 01533 
 
1. (U) This cable responds to the request for information in 
reftel A in the same order as the original questionnaire. 
 
2. (SBU) Preparedness/Communication: 
 
-- The GOCR has a preparedness plan for pandemics that was 
submitted to the WHO in 2000 and updated in April of 2004. 
It can be found at the following website: 
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/czec hplan.pdf. The 
plan offers a detailed overview of the capabilities of the 
Czech Republic to respond to a pandemic.  Per reftel B, 
however, the country does not appear to be prepared to 
implement this plan.  Hospitals that we contacted at the 
working level were unaware of the plan.  One main problem is 
a lack of consistent leadership at the Ministry of Health, 
which has seen six Ministers in as many years.  The current 
Minister of Health, Dr. David Rath (appointed November 4), is 
distracted by a battle for control of the country's largest 
medical insurance company at the moment, but his Deputy 
Minister and the Chief Public Health Officer of the Czech 
Republic, Dr. Michael Vit, is up to speed on the pandemic 
plan and is the primary government representative to this 
week's EU pandemic simulation exercise. 
 
-- The GOCR will likely be truthful in reporting the scope of 
any disease outbreak among people and among animals. 
 
-- Preparing for an avian flu human pandemic does not rank 
high among government priorities as illustrated by the 
absence of any apparent training on the pandemic plan or any 
large scale media campaign to inform the public about the 
disease.  Per reftel B, the Minister of Health has made 
public statements to the effect that the disease is not a 
threat or major concern.  The Minister, Dr. Rath, would be 
the individual most capable of elevating the importance of 
this subject in the government but is engaged in other 
political battles and will likely remain otherwise occupied 
with his political role as the 2006 elections are on the 
horizon.  The working POC for USG officials remains Dr. Vit 
from the Ministry of Health or Dr. Zbynek Semerad from the 
State Veterinary Administration. 
 
-- National laws do not pose a barrier to avian flu 
detection, reporting, containment or response. 
 
-- The Czech government is working within the EU framework 
and with the WHO to prepare for any possible flu pandemic. 
Government leaders are not likely to ask the USG for 
assistance, but have previously been receptive to information 
from the USG at both the bilateral and multilateral level. 
 
-- The country does administer flu shots, but was unprepared 
for the large volume of requests for flu shots this year and 
quickly ran through their original stockpile (an additional 
120,000 shots have been ordered and will arrive by early 
December).  Czech citizens appear to consider the flu shot as 
a prophylactic against avian flu.  Usually only 7% of Czech 
citizens get a flu shot (well below the EU average of 20%) 
but the numbers will be much higher this year.  The Czech 
Republic does not produce these flu vaccines domestically, 
nor do they produce a flu vaccine for poultry.  The country 
is not developing an H5N1 vaccine.  There is a registration 
requirement for donors/makers of vaccines that would either 
have to be complied with or waived by the government.  If the 
vaccine is registered as safe or exempt from the regulation, 
there would indeed be a liability shield according to the 
State Veterinary Administration. 
 
-- The population is relatively aware of the threat of an 
avian flu human pandemic based upon media coverage in print 
and on television.  However, there is a wide misunderstanding 
that the regular flu vaccine would prevent avian flu which 
the government is attempting to combat via fact sheets on the 
Ministry of Health web page and occasion TV interviews. 
According to the State Veterinary Administration, should 
there be a real health threat due to avian flu, additional 
information would be broadcast through print, radio, and 
television media, as well as via regional government offices 
and town mayors. 
 
3. (SBU) Surveillance/Detection 
 
-- The medical and agricultural sectors are competent and 
capable of detecting a new strain of influenza.  If it cannot 
be subtyped here in the Czech Republic, it would be sent to 
the EU reference lab in the UK and it would take 1-2 weeks to 
get a final result. 
-- The critical gap in disease detection and outbreak 
response capabilities is at the working level.  The State 
Veterinary Administration seems to be well-prepared for 
handling detection and poultry extermination should the need 
arise, but the Ministry of Health seems to be prepared only 
on paper.  It is doubtful that the country's medical 
facilities could absorb any surge in patient levels and 
coordination within the government on a human pandemic 
response would likely be haphazard.  However, the simulation 
run by the EU the week of November 20 should help to identify 
any egregious faults in the Czech system and hopefully they 
will be in a better position to respond on the heels of this 
exercise. 
 
4. (SBU) Response/containment 
 
-- The country has 600,000 doses of Tamiflu and has ordered 
two million more (but they are not expected until the middle 
of next year).  It is sufficient to treat first-responders 
and the elderly, but other at-risk groups in the population, 
such as young children, would be in dire straits. 
 
-- Personal protective gear is available for veterinary 
officials, first responders, and military chemical 
contamination specialists only. 
 
-- The response capability for animal outbreaks and for the 
culling of birds is good.  The State Veterinary 
Administration has two emergency destruction centers, and has 
an up-to-date plan to respond to any infectious diseases. 
Rapid response to human outbreaks would be acceptable for 
small outbreaks, but would be quickly overwhelmed if the 
numbers climb. 
 
-- The Czech government's pandemic plan does not take 
large-scale quarantines into consideration.  Enforcement of 
social distancing measures would likely be difficult, and 
military involvement in the process is uncertain. 
CABANISS