§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what preventive action has been taken in Northern Ireland to counter an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome. [119519]
§ Angela SmithSevere acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a serious public health issue and the Department has acted quickly to strengthen its public health surveillance systems and ensure that the health service is prepared should a case occur in Northern Ireland.
The Department is represented on the National SARS Taskforce which itself works closely with the World Health Organisation. The taskforce agrees all relevant control measures and these are then implemented locally. The Chief Medical Officer contacted all relevant health care professionals on 14 March with detailed information on the symptoms of SARS, and what to do if they encountered a case. Updated guidance based on advice from WHO has been issued at regular intervals since both to professionals and people travelling abroad. The Department has established a SARS section on its website which is regularly updated. It has also provided and made arrangements for posters to be displayed at appropriate points in airports and seaports. There have been no SARS cases so far in Northern Ireland.
In conjunction with the Centre for Communicable Disease Control (CDSC) (NI), the Department is urgently developing a contingency plan for SARS or other emerging infection. A Northern Ireland taskforce 599W is being established to monitor the situation and to implement the contingency plan. It will meet for the first time on Friday 20 June.