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NZ action on bird flu slated as inadequate
NZ action on bird flu slated as inadequate
24 February 2006 <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="5"> <tbody><tr><td height="5">
</td></tr></tbody> </table> By COLIN ESPINER and KAMALA HAYMAN
A parliamentary committee has slated the Government's preparedness for a human flu pandemic amid fears bird flu is already in Australia and is headed to New Zealand.
Trans-Tasman flu experts warned yesterday it was "highly likely" the bird flu was in Australia.
International alarm is mounting as the H5N1 virus ? deadly to birds but not easily passed to humans ? spreads globally.
Experts fear the virus could mutate to become infectious amongst humans, triggering a pandemic.
Parliament's health select committee yesterday released its review of the Ministry of Health's Influenza Pandemic Action Plan, unveiled by the ministry last November.
The ministry based its plan on the model that an outbreak of deadly flu would strike 40 per cent of the population in just eight weeks, killing up to 33,000.
The ministry has been stockpiling the drug Tamiflu and working with district health boards (DHBs) to develop regional action plans in the event of a pandemic.
But the health select committee report says overall planning is still not sufficiently advanced and that DHBs lack direction.
"We are concerned that planning at the DHB level may be inadequate and that poor preparation now could mean an inability to deal with a pandemic later," the report says.
The national surveillance system for bird flu relied primarily on GPs and was "obviously insufficient" as an early-detection system. Immediate steps were necessary to strengthen it, the committee said.
"We are concerned the primary health system may not have the capacity and capability to monitor the incidence of influenza adequately," the committee said.
Australian scientist Professor Mark von Itzstein, of Griffith University, in Queensland, yesterday warned it was "highly likely" the virus was in migratory birds in Australia, particularly in the northern wetlands.
"It would be extremely naive of us to think that we have a curtain that drapes from the sky protecting our shores."
While H5N1 had not been detected in Australia, von Itzstein said the size of the country made 100 per cent surveillance impossible.
Von Itzstein, who led the Australian team which developed antiviral drug Relenza, said New Zealand was further from Asia than northern Australia "but when the major migrations commence clearly New Zealand will also be exposed".
Christchurch scientist Ben Harris said he would not be surprised if the virus was in Australia and "it would be silly not to assume" it could reach New Zealand.
"If it keeps travelling at the rate it is around the world, the chances increase quite dramatically of it being able to come to New Zealand.
"It is essentially global or becoming global. In many ways the genie is out of the bottle."
The parliamentary committee said yesterday that the Health Ministry should be planning a full rehearsal at a community, DHB, and national level as soon as possible ? rather than in 2007 as planned.
It also wants the Government to consider stockpiling other drugs besides Tamiflu, such as Relenza, and increase the national supply of essential personal medicines.
The Ministry of Social Development did not appear to have told DHBs how to communicate with community groups during a pandemic which was unacceptable given that homecare and isolation were key strategies in the national plan.
It appeared people living in areas serviced by less-prepared DHBs were likely to fare worse in a pandemic than those with more advanced and rehearsed plans, the committee said.
"We are concerned that the quality of services provided to the public during a pandemic may be affected by a DHB's financial health and the strength or weakness of community organisations."
Community organisations were expected to play a vital role in caring for the sick during a pandemic yet the ministry had made no plans to provide them with safety equipment such as masks, gloves, and Tamiflu.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Pete Hodgson said the committee's concerns were "three months old" because they were based on a briefing the committee received by the ministry last November. "Things obviously have moved on."
24 February 2006 <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="5"> <tbody><tr><td height="5">
</td></tr></tbody> </table> By COLIN ESPINER and KAMALA HAYMANA parliamentary committee has slated the Government's preparedness for a human flu pandemic amid fears bird flu is already in Australia and is headed to New Zealand.
Trans-Tasman flu experts warned yesterday it was "highly likely" the bird flu was in Australia.
International alarm is mounting as the H5N1 virus ? deadly to birds but not easily passed to humans ? spreads globally.
Experts fear the virus could mutate to become infectious amongst humans, triggering a pandemic.
Parliament's health select committee yesterday released its review of the Ministry of Health's Influenza Pandemic Action Plan, unveiled by the ministry last November.
The ministry based its plan on the model that an outbreak of deadly flu would strike 40 per cent of the population in just eight weeks, killing up to 33,000.
The ministry has been stockpiling the drug Tamiflu and working with district health boards (DHBs) to develop regional action plans in the event of a pandemic.
But the health select committee report says overall planning is still not sufficiently advanced and that DHBs lack direction.
"We are concerned that planning at the DHB level may be inadequate and that poor preparation now could mean an inability to deal with a pandemic later," the report says.
The national surveillance system for bird flu relied primarily on GPs and was "obviously insufficient" as an early-detection system. Immediate steps were necessary to strengthen it, the committee said.
"We are concerned the primary health system may not have the capacity and capability to monitor the incidence of influenza adequately," the committee said.
Australian scientist Professor Mark von Itzstein, of Griffith University, in Queensland, yesterday warned it was "highly likely" the virus was in migratory birds in Australia, particularly in the northern wetlands.
"It would be extremely naive of us to think that we have a curtain that drapes from the sky protecting our shores."
While H5N1 had not been detected in Australia, von Itzstein said the size of the country made 100 per cent surveillance impossible.
Von Itzstein, who led the Australian team which developed antiviral drug Relenza, said New Zealand was further from Asia than northern Australia "but when the major migrations commence clearly New Zealand will also be exposed".
Christchurch scientist Ben Harris said he would not be surprised if the virus was in Australia and "it would be silly not to assume" it could reach New Zealand.
"If it keeps travelling at the rate it is around the world, the chances increase quite dramatically of it being able to come to New Zealand.
"It is essentially global or becoming global. In many ways the genie is out of the bottle."
The parliamentary committee said yesterday that the Health Ministry should be planning a full rehearsal at a community, DHB, and national level as soon as possible ? rather than in 2007 as planned.
It also wants the Government to consider stockpiling other drugs besides Tamiflu, such as Relenza, and increase the national supply of essential personal medicines.
The Ministry of Social Development did not appear to have told DHBs how to communicate with community groups during a pandemic which was unacceptable given that homecare and isolation were key strategies in the national plan.
It appeared people living in areas serviced by less-prepared DHBs were likely to fare worse in a pandemic than those with more advanced and rehearsed plans, the committee said.
"We are concerned that the quality of services provided to the public during a pandemic may be affected by a DHB's financial health and the strength or weakness of community organisations."
Community organisations were expected to play a vital role in caring for the sick during a pandemic yet the ministry had made no plans to provide them with safety equipment such as masks, gloves, and Tamiflu.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Pete Hodgson said the committee's concerns were "three months old" because they were based on a briefing the committee received by the ministry last November. "Things obviously have moved on."
