The State's ability to contain an outbreak of an infectious disease such as the current Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) problem will be greatly hampered when 300 public health doctors are to go on strike in early April.
The doctors are striking over a refusal by the Department of Health and Children to abide by an agreement reached nine years ago.
The doctors have been providing for a non-paid out-of-hours service in the area of surveillance and control of infectious diseases. They have been providing this service for nine years.
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, public health doctors dealt with 47 anthrax scares during out-of-office hours.
The doctors are also concerned about the Government's lack of a defence or response to a bio-terrorist attack.
The Irish Medical Organisation's (IMO) vice president and chairman of the Public Health Committee, Dr Joe Barry, said: "This was not a decision taken lightly. In 1994 new public health structures were set up and should have been reviewed within two years.
"This process was delayed by the Department of Health until April 2002. This delay and the continuing failure to implement the report's recommendations is a blatant abuse of the goodwill shown by these doctors for so long," added Dr Barry.
In view of the war commencing in Iraq the IMO has decided to defer strike notice for two weeks. The current work-to-rule by these doctors will continue.
Public health doctors work exclusively in the public service. The main work of public health doctors includes the surveillance and control of infectious diseases (such as meningitis, winter vomiting bug and food poisoning), the prevention of disease generally, the promotion of the health of the population, planning of public health programmes such as vaccinations and screening programmes.
Recently, they have been helping the Department of Health and Children to develop and disseminate guidelines to deal with the current Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) problem, which has been declared a worldwide health threat by the World Health Organisation.