US embassy cable - 05LJUBLJANA822

UNCLAS  LJUBLJANA 000822 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE 
DEPT FOR OES/DANIEL SINGER AND REBECCA DALEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, SENV, ECON, EAGR, EAID, PREL, SI 
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA ON CONTROLLING AVIAN FLU: PART TWO 
 
REF: A. LJUBLJANA 0807 
     B. STATE 209622 
 
 1. (U) Summary: On 28 November, Econoff and Econ Assistant 
met with Dr. Marija Seljak, Director General of the Public 
Health Directorate at the Slovene Ministry of Health, to 
discuss Slovenia's preparedness for a potential influenza 
pandemic.  Following is a summary of measures the Health 
Ministry has undertaken to ready Slovenia for a potential 
health crisis.  End Summary. 
 
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PREPAREDNESS/COMMUNICATION 
-------------------------- 
 
2. (U) As reported ref A, Slovenia's Veterinary 
Administration has the lead within the GOS for avian flu 
matters.  Seljak said the Health Ministry cooperates very 
closely with the Veterinary Administration.  She said, 
however, that the Health Ministry is currently focused on 
preparing for a potential pandemic of influenza.  Noting that 
it is "very difficult" for humans to contract the H5N1 virus, 
Seljak said that most of her agency's time is spent on 
addressing concerns associated with a possible mutation of 
the virus into a form easily transmitted to and among people. 
 
 
3. (U) Referring to a simulation performed last week in 
cooperation with the EU, Seljak termed Slovenia to be 
well-prepared to handle a potential pandemic.  She said the 
simulation helped the Ministry identify possible holes in the 
Health Ministry's preparedness plan and that the Ministry was 
working to address this (the plan is available at 
http://www2.gov.si/mz/mz-sple.nsf, click on "nacrt 
pripravljanosti na pandemijo pticje gripe-verzija 2.0". 
Slovene only.).  Seljak noted that her only concern in the 
"most pessimistic scenario" would be a undercapacity in 
hospital space as well as insufficient medical practitioners. 
 She said, however, that this situation was no different from 
other Western European nations. 
 
4. (U) Seljak said that Slovenia administers annual flu shots 
and the typical demand is for approximately 150-180 thousand 
doses.  (Note: Slovenia's population is slightly less than 
two million.  End note.)  Given the increased concern about 
avian flu, however, Seljak expects that this year Slovenia 
will administer approximately 300 thousand shots.  She 
further said that Slovenia does not produce human influenza 
vaccines. 
 
5. (U) One of the areas for improvement in Slovenia's 
preparedness is improving the general public's understanding 
of avian flu, according to Seljak.  She said the public is 
confused by the different types of flu: avian flu that is 
widely reported in the media, the flu strains that are 
typical in the winter, and the potential for a pandemic 
influenza.  Seljak said the Ministry is currently working on 
a new communication strategy that will help the public 
understand the differences and risks associated with the 
different types of flu.  She said the Ministry has published 
a list of influenza-related frequently asked questions and 
that these were reprinted in the most widely-read newspapers 
and magazines.  Seljak also said the Ministry was evaluating 
the potential benefit of printing informational flyers and 
brochures for distribution to households throughout the 
country. 
 
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SURVEILLANCE/DETECTION 
---------------------- 
 
6. (U) In addition to the subtyping capabilities of the 
Veterinary Administration (ref A), Seljak noted that the 
Slovene National Institute of Public Health was well-equipped 
and very capable of diagnosing and subtyping new strains of 
influenza.  She said that the Institute enjoys "stable 
financing" and was staffed with well-educated scientists.  In 
addition, Seljak said that Ministry of Health identifies 3-5 
medical practitioners in each region of Slovenia who submit 
throat swabs to the Institute when a patient complains of 
flu-like symptoms.  As required, Seljak said samples from 
Slovenia are sent to a reference lab in the U.K. for 
additional testing. 
 
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RESPONSE/CONTAINMENT 
-------------------- 
 
7. (U) As noted ref A, Slovenia will begin stockpiling doses 
of Tamiflu in 2006.  Seljak said the Ministry expected the 
first shipment to take place in March, to be followed by a 
second shipment in calendar Q4.  Seljak also said that 
 
Slovenia does have some protective gear available for use by 
the general public, but that most of the gear is at hospitals 
and is intended for the use of healthcare workers.  In 
addition, Seljak said while the GOS "might" be willing to 
enforce quarantines for the "first patients" of a pandemic, 
she did not see the need for a general quarantine.  She said 
that even with a quarantine, it is likely that any pandemic 
will still spread. 
ROBERTSON 
 
 
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