Milburn calls for global health review

Monday, 19 May 2003 12:00 AM

Health Secretary Alan Milburn today called on the World Health Organisation to assess the preparedness of countries worldwide to deal with new diseases in the wake of the SARS outbreak.

The atypical pneumonia, which was first identified this March, has now killed nearly 650 people.

But some experts believe that the number of cases could have been far lower if the authorities in China, where the virus is believed to have originated, had acted more quickly and had warned neighbouring countries.

Mr. Milburn gave his support to American proposals to establish an international surveillance system for new and emerging diseases

He also said it was vital for the WHO to identify and address any gaps in surveillance, capacity and contingency planning around the world.

The Health Secretary went on to stress that it was essential that international law was sufficiently robust to ensure that when the WHO demanded action, all states would fulfil their obligations to protect the world community.

Speaking at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, the Health Secretary commented: "As events of recent weeks show, the world needs a strengthened World Health Organisation."

"The emergence of SARS in developing and developed countries, in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, has confronted all nations with a new public health challenge."

He pointed out that in the last 30 years an average of one new infectious disease a year has been discovered, which combined with the new threat of bioterrorism posed a problem for the international community.

Mr. Milburn also called for countries to review their public health systems with the aid of the WHO< and stressed that good public information was the best way to handle an outbreak such as SARS, and to reduce panic. >

There have now been nearly 8,000 suspected cases of SARS around the world, with well over half being reported in China.

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