PEH ward would be used in flu pandemic

A SPECIAL ward would be set up at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital if the island was caught up in a flu pandemic. 'It is important to realise that we are dealing with a completely hypothetical situation,' said director of public health Dr David Jeffs.

'Virologists and epidemiologists are pretty sure that we are due to have another major influenza pandemic, mainly on the basis that it has been 38 years since the Hong Kong flu in 1968, suggesting that many people will have little natural immunity to naturally acquired influenza.

'However, whether the next epidemic will be a human version of avian flu H5N1 or another related virus is unknown at present.

'What we can do at this stage is to thoroughly examine all stages of our influenza preparedness to ensure that we could cope with a major increase in cases.'

The announcement came as the Indonesian Health Ministry yesterday confirmed that a boy of eight had died of bird flu.

He became the latest victim of the virus which has so far claimed the lives of more than 70 people in Asia since it was identified in 2003,

most of them in Vietnam and Thailand.

Dr Jeffs has revealed that a local health planning group made up of senior officials has now completed a step-by-step review of how Guernsey would cope with a major increase in influenza cases.

He has also been in discussions with Department of Health officials in London and with his counterparts in other jurisdictions.

'My message to the public at this stage is that we have completed our initial planning and discussed these plans with outside experts,' said Dr Jeffs.

'They have agreed that we are as well prepared as we can be given the present uncertainties.'

Last week the UK Government's preparations for a bird flu pandemic were criticised by a House of Lords committee.

The Science and Technology Committee said the UK was ahead of many other countries but could do better.

'We will naturally be meeting every few weeks to look at the new evidence and update our plans as necessary,' said Dr Jeffs.

'At this stage, I would like to reassure the community that, even in the worst case scenario, only a minority of the population will have symptoms and only a small proportion of these will require more than routine medical care.

'I am reassured that at this stage we have taken all necessary steps to enable us to cope as well as any other community.'