Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 17 Jun 2003

Vol. 568 No. 5

Written Answers. - SARS Virus.

Paul McGrath

Ceist:

331 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children the precautions put in place by his Department to screen, advise and check persons travelling from the SARS infected areas of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Toronto to Ireland; and the discussions or contacts with hub airport authorities, such as London and Amsterdam, to identify persons travelling on to Ireland through those airports who originated in the aforementioned areas in view of the fact that direct flights from these areas to Ireland are non-existent or infrequent. [16393/03]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome is a severe form of pneumonia or infection of the lungs, which appeared recently in south east Asia. As of 13 June 2003, a cumulative total of 8,454 probable SARS cases, with 792 deaths, have been reported internationally to the World Health Organisation. To date there has only been one probable case of SARS in Ireland; the individual concerned has made a full recovery.

I established an expert group in mid-March to monitor the situation as it developed and to advise me of the measures required to deal with this syndrome. This group continues to meet on a regular basis.

Persons travelling to Ireland from areas with recent local transmission of SARS – as of 13 June; Beijing, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Taiwan and Toronto and Canada – are advised to monitor their health for ten days following their departure from an affected area. If they develop any of the symptoms of SARS they should seek medical advice urgently and advise the relevant medical practitioner they have recently been in an affected area. Specific travel advice and guidelines have been developed by the expert group for members of the public as well as for teachers, students and health care workers. These guidelines are available on my Department's website www.doh.ie.

In addition, my Department strongly advises individuals not to travel to the SARS-affected regions of China and China, Taiwan. Passengers intending to transit through airports in the affected areas should consider using an alternative route where possible. This advice is being reviewed regularly and may change.

Advice on travel was prominently displayed in national newspapers on a number of occasions since March 2003. Information was also made available by way of notices in airports to alert travellers to the issue. In addition, with effect from Monday 28 April 2003, arrangements were made to hand out information leaflets on all incoming flights to Ireland and at other points of entry such as ports and the Enterprise train line. Public announcements are also being made on incoming flights and ferries as well as radio announcements. SARS information desks have been set up at arrival terminals in all airports and ferry ports. A national SARS freephone information line 1800 45 45 00 has been set up with effect from 28 April 2003.

Since the incubation period of SARS can be up to ten days, general registration or health controls such as screening, at ports of arrival in Ireland are of little value; on the contrary, they may give the public a false sense of security. This is in line with expert advice received from the World Health Organisation and the European Union's Communicable Disease Network Committee. Instead the WHO recommends that persons departing from an affected area should be screened prior to departure. In line with the national and international advice available, identification of individuals travelling from areas with recent local transmission is not considered necessary.

Protocols and guidance for hospitals and health professionals which describe the syndrome and provide advice on how suspect cases should be managed have been developed. The relevant guidelines and protocols have been circulated to medical practitioners. This material is reviewed and updated by the expert group and the most up to date information is also available on my Department's website (www.doh.ie). A large amount of other relevant information in relation to SARS has also been placed on that website including a frequently asked questions document which should help to inform the public and to address public concerns. This information is updated on an on-going basis.

Question No. 332 answered with Question No. 330.