SARS fears - Government must respond to threat

THE confidence expressed

Ms Davies may have been hinting that countries affected by the virus might not participate in the world event in Dublin next June which, at the moment, would mean more than 20 of the 165 countries due to take part would be missing.

It would be unfortunate if the games were in any way weakened as they represent the biggest sporting event ever to be seen in Ireland and the largest in the world this year.

Some of the 7,000 athletes due to compete represent countries such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada, all of which have been hit by SARS. These athletes are due to be hosted in towns around the country.

The fact that the organisers are in constant contact with the Department of Health and the National Disease Surveillance Centre only means they are as much informed as the general public about what precautions, if any, have been put in place to cope with an outbreak of the deadly virus.

So far, the dissemination of advice by the department has been sporadic to say the least and, combined with the strike by the country’s 300 public health doctors, who are concerned with the containment of infectious diseases, has spread an unwarranted concern throughout the country.

An expert group appointed in March by Minister for Health Micheál Martin met yesterday to review the situation but even he had to admit in an RTÉ radio interview that no definitive decisions were expected to be made at the meeting.

In the meantime, apart altogether from the implications for the Special Olympics, people are wondering if the Government is doing anything other than the glaringly obvious in advising them not to travel to places hit by the virus.

According to Dr Gerard Sheehan, infectious diseases consultant at Dublin’s Mater Hospital, compared to most other healthcare systems in the developed world, Ireland’s is inadequate in terms of the number of isolation rooms and the number of doctors.

Alongside the opinion of such an expert in the field, it is hardly surprising that the assurances from the Department of Health are received with a certain degree of scepticism.

Precautions for screening should at least have been put in place at this stage at airports to guard against importing a virus which has already killed about 220 people and infected about 4,000 in 25 countries.

The strike by the public health doctors is, of course, compounding the public apprehension about SARS.

However, IMO vice-president Dr Joe Barry has said people would be mistaken to believe SARS was the only illness to worry about.

Because of its frightening implications for public health and the headlines it is causing around the world, the pneumonia-like condition is concentrating peoples’ minds.

There is a plethora of other sicknesses which normally occupy the attention of our doctors.

Mr Martin has suggested the dispute with the public health doctors should be referred to the Labour Relations Commission or to the Labour Court in order to try to get it resolved swiftly.

For the sake of the health of the nation, the sooner it is resolved, the better for all of us.