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FLU DRUG CRISIS ALERT
No pandemic plan: Official
By Zen Ruryk, City Hall Bureau Chief (Toronto Sun)
September 15, 2006
Health board chairman John Filion sounded an alarm yesterday, warning there's no plan to provide Toronto residents with an anti-viral drug in the event of a flu pandemic.
Health officials at all three levels of government are making preparations for a predicted outbreak of a potentially lethal and highly contagious strain of flu. A flu pandemic occurs every 30 to 40 years.
He was "astonished" to find out there are no plans to supply doses of Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug, in the wake of an outbreak, Filion said.
"The most important piece that's missing is that nobody has been given responsibility for developing the assessment and treatment plan," he said.
The health board yesterday called on the provincial government to start the ball rolling on coming up with measures to tend to those who fall ill during an outbreak.
"The hospital system can't handle 1 million people," Filion said. "There's no plan for centres ... Likely more than 100 centres would have to be established. You'd have to have staff lined up. You'd have to have a sufficient supply of the Tamiflu."
Tamiflu reduces symptoms
If Tamiflu is administered when a patient first shows signs of the flu, it will reduce the severity of that person's symptoms, said Dr. David McKeown, the city's medical officer of health.
If there's a flu pandemic, it would take a few months to develop a vaccine, he said.
John Letherby, of Ontario's health ministry, said that the city, province and federal government need to work out an agreement for the distribution of anti-viral drugs during a pandemic. A provincial flu pandemic plan will be released during the next several weeks, he said.
Source
No pandemic plan: Official
By Zen Ruryk, City Hall Bureau Chief (Toronto Sun)
September 15, 2006
Health board chairman John Filion sounded an alarm yesterday, warning there's no plan to provide Toronto residents with an anti-viral drug in the event of a flu pandemic.
Health officials at all three levels of government are making preparations for a predicted outbreak of a potentially lethal and highly contagious strain of flu. A flu pandemic occurs every 30 to 40 years.
He was "astonished" to find out there are no plans to supply doses of Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug, in the wake of an outbreak, Filion said.
"The most important piece that's missing is that nobody has been given responsibility for developing the assessment and treatment plan," he said.
The health board yesterday called on the provincial government to start the ball rolling on coming up with measures to tend to those who fall ill during an outbreak.
"The hospital system can't handle 1 million people," Filion said. "There's no plan for centres ... Likely more than 100 centres would have to be established. You'd have to have staff lined up. You'd have to have a sufficient supply of the Tamiflu."
Tamiflu reduces symptoms
If Tamiflu is administered when a patient first shows signs of the flu, it will reduce the severity of that person's symptoms, said Dr. David McKeown, the city's medical officer of health.
If there's a flu pandemic, it would take a few months to develop a vaccine, he said.
John Letherby, of Ontario's health ministry, said that the city, province and federal government need to work out an agreement for the distribution of anti-viral drugs during a pandemic. A provincial flu pandemic plan will be released during the next several weeks, he said.
Source