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Emergency Anti-Flu Plans Laid For Elderly In Hostels
By Monday Ng, The Standard
Hong Kong
October 27, 2005
If or when avian influenza strikes Hong Kong, the Social Welfare Department has emergency plans to isolate and vaccinate all staff in government-run homes for the elderly and the disabled, the department's director said.
If or when avian influenza strikes Hong Kong, the Social Welfare Department has emergency plans to isolate and vaccinate all staff in government-run homes for the elderly and the disabled, the department's director said.
"Hostel services could not be suspended even during an outbreak. Operations must carry on so all staff must be vaccinated for prevention," Director of Social Services Paul Tang said Wednesday.
Some 700 elderly hostels and 100 hostels for the disabled and the physically handicapped are licensed by the department and run by private organizations or nongovernmental organizations.
The government has announced that an influenza vaccination program for elderly residents and staff is to start on November 7. Guidelines on hygiene will also be sent to hostels.
In case of emergency isolation due to an outbreak of bird flu, a 24-hour shift team is being prepared to cater for the needs of those isolated.
The action plan has been developed using lessons learned from the SARS outbreak of 2003 when residents from a whole block in Amoy Gardens in Ngau Tau Kok were evacuated to two quarantine camps where they later complained of insufficient facilities.
The department is also cooperating with the Department of Health to prevent an influenza outbreak. A notification mechanism has been set up between both departments to exchange information on infected people.
Meanwhile, worried residents and companies are sweeping bird flu drugs off pharmacy shelves as the deadly virus spreads in poultry and wild birds on the mainland, a Reuters report said.
The worry in Hong Kong is understandable. The H5N1 virus made its first known jump to humans in the city in 1997, when it killed six people. SARS, which killed 299 people in Hong Kong in 2003, is also fresh in people's minds. Health experts have warned for months that the bird flu virus, which has killed more than 60 people in four Southeast Asian countries since 2003, could soon mutate into a strain that is easily passed among humans. According to the World Health Organization, up to 50 million people could die if there is a global flu pandemic.
Store managers at some Hong Kong pharmacies said they had run out of Tamiflu and Relenza about two weeks ago. Both anti-viral drugs are considered by doctors as an effective way to reduce the severity of avian influenza and its complications, if taken correctly.
Although both are prescription drugs, they were freely available over the counter in pharmacies until recently. The government began enforcing the restrictions since it warned against their indiscriminate use.
"And even with a prescription, I don't know when you can get yours," a store manager said. "Supply is very tight because companies have been buying in bulk for their own staff. I've got four orders before yours. But if you can't wait, you can get them from shops in Mong Kok. They are going for between HK$600 and HK$1,000."
Each course of Tamiflu and Relenza fetched about HK$200 a few weeks ago. A course of Tamiflu is 10 tablets.
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