The health service will "probably" not be able to cope in the event of a flu pandemic, a director with the Health Service Executive has admitted.Dr Kevin Kelleher, director of population health, said yesterday if a pandemic on the scale of the pandemic which occurred in 1918 was to happen again it "would overwhelm us," writes Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent.
Dr Kevin Kelleher, director of population health, said yesterday if a pandemic on the scale of the pandemic which occurred in 1918 was to happen again it "would overwhelm us".
He told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children that another flu pandemic was inevitable. The only uncertainties were when it would occur and what would cause it. "We know when it happens we will be hard pressed and probably won't cope," he said.
Nonetheless, he said preparations were being made for such an eventuality.
Minister for Health Mary Harney said all systems will be under pressure, even the education system, if there was a pandemic. "There's no doubt, if the world is going to have another pandemic, every country in the world will be under pressure," she said.
Dr Darina O'Flanagan, director of the national Health Protection Surveillance Centre, said everyone was worried the H5N1 strain of avian flu might mix with the human flu virus, mutate, and start the next flu pandemic. This was possible but it was also possible something else might spark the next pandemic, she said. She added that there had been no clear evidence of human to human transmission of H5N1 to date but it has been blamed for the deaths of over 90 people, mainly in southeast Asia.
Six EU states have so far confirmed cases of bird flu in dead wild birds including Germany, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary and Austria. As Slovenia confirmed its first case yesterday, European Union officials backed wider quarantine zones to contain the growing threat of the virus. And the Department of Agriculture here said it would set up an expert group to provide advice on controls. Prof Michael Monaghan of the faculty of veterinary medicines, UCD, will head the group. He chaired a similar group to advise on foot-and-mouth disease in 2001.
Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan made the announcement, saying the virus's recent spread to wild birds in Europe had caused concern as it increased the risk of it being introduced here.
"It is important, given the potential consequences of an outbreak of avian flu, that my department and I have access to the most comprehensive advice available to us on an ongoing basis," she said, adding that she would ask the group to advise her of the circumstances in which it would be appropriate to require the compulsory housing of domestic poultry and other birds.
While Poland said yesterday that three swans found dead on its Baltic coast had not died of bird flu, Greece and Austria confirmed more cases and Denmark said 35 dead birds would be tested for H5N1. The results are expected today. Germany will today implement a ban on keeping poultry outdoors.