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Ministers must adopt most precautionary approach to Bird Flu
March 1, 2005 11:56 AM
Commenting on the forthcoming announcement of the UK Influenza Pandemic Contingency Plan, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Paul Burstow MP said:
"It is disturbing that the Department of Health has been so slow to set out its plans to tackle a threat which public health experts say is not simply a question of 'if' but 'when'. Contingency plans to cope with a bird flu pandemic have been in place and well known in other countries for months.
"If the decision is made not to stockpile flu vaccines, Ministers must demonstrate that this is based on the best available evidence and explain why experts in other countries have advised politicians to take a different course.
"Ministers need to demonstrate a sense of urgency in increasing the health service's ability to isolate patients where necessary. The question that should be asked is if we are adopting the most precautionary approach possible.
"We cannot put the UK in quarantine from the rest of the World. Simply planning to tackle new strains of flu and avian flu when they arrive at our shores misses the point. Prevention is as important as cure, and requires international cooperation to support poorer countries in controlling and containing the spread of flu and infectious diseases."
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