Home

  • Home
    • » e-Newsletters

SARS lessons help deal with bird flu

Respiratory Care Weekly, August 23, 2006

Chinese healthcare practitioners said in the August 19 British Medical Journal that the world will not have to start from ground zero to eliminate avian flu. Applying the lessons from the SARS outbreak several winters ago can provide a framework for curing and containing bird flu. Specifically, to contain emergent infections laboratory workers and health professionals need to collaborate closely, according to the Journal. Public health officials should then consult healthcare professionals to develop appropriate policies. Finally, a call for an international monitoring network for emergent infections is needed.

"These outbreaks revealed some problems in the health system and in public understanding of emerging infectious diseases," wrote the authors. "The lessons we learn while facing up to these events can improve our medical performance in the future for management of new epidemics, such as human avian influenza."

Most Popular