There. Now that's out of the way.
Posted on 11/12/2005 5:17:55 PM PST by blam
Parrot worker left untreated for days
By Philip Edwards
(Filed: 13/11/2005)
Crucial treatment for a hospital worker exposed to Britain's first case of deadly bird flu through his other job as a quarantine worker was delayed by at least three days because of a blunder by government officials, the Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are understood to have risked an outbreak of the disease by failing to alert local health authorities that Howard Savage urgently needed antiviral treatment.
Mr Savage, who runs the quarantine centre where two infected parrots died, approached senior staff at Southend Hospital after realising the potential threat he posed of contracting and possibly passing on the disease.
By then, however, Defra had released an apparently false statement claiming that all staff at the centre who came into contact with the birds which were being held for the convicted tax fraudster Brett Hammond, had received preventative medication.
An inquiry has now been launched to discover how emergency plans were ignored at a time when Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government's chief medical officer, was saying that 50,000 Britons could die if the virus entered the human population.
Oliver Letwin, the Conservative environment spokesman, said: "If true, this is yet another indication that the whole machinery is not geared up to act with the speed and efficiency that would be absolutely necessary to deal with a serious outbreak if one were to occur."
Defra last night refused to discuss the alleged failures. A spokesman said: "We have asked the State Veterinary Service to undertake a thorough investigation of all the circumstances surrounding this case. We can't prejudice that investigation by commenting on this issue."
The first parrot died on October 16 at Mr Savage's government-licensed site in Ashingdon, Essex.
Defra announced the following Friday that a case of bird flu had been identified at a quarantine centre, but did not say where. It stressed that the antiviral Tamiflu had already been given to staff "as a precautionary measure".
However, Southend Hospital - where Mr Savage, 55, is employed part-time as a maintenance man - said he was only taken in for treatment the following day. "Mr Savage informed his managers at the hospital. He was taken to Broomfield Hospital, near Chelmsford, which is the local distribution centre for antivirals," said a spokesman.
Mr Savage's wife, Joy, who is a cleaning supervisor at Southend Hospital, was also given the medication.
Under published Defra contingency plans, the local Primary Care Trust and the Health Protection Agency should be notified as soon as a case of bird flu is suspected or confirmed. Antivirals are to be administered as soon as possible.
So far all human victims of H5N1, the most deadly form of the flu and the form discovered in Essex, are thought to have contracted it through close contact with birds, but Britain is stockpiling Tamiflu to guard against the possibility that it could start moving between people.
Besides showing the wonder of socialized medicine, it also shows the hazards of taking matters into one's own hands, e.g. preventative tamiflu. Fortunately, Roche has shut down shipments of this medication, to prevent such self-determination. All hail the unerring and infallible government!!
Ping.
There. Now that's out of the way.
"If you think healthcare is expensive now, just wait until it's free."
-P.J. O'Rourke
The Ex-Parrot's Revenge?
Hillary meds.
Defra last night refused to discuss the alleged failures. A spokesman said: "We have asked the State Veterinary Service to undertake a thorough investigation of all the circumstances surrounding this case. We can't prejudice that investigation by commenting on this issue."
Translation: "We plan to form a committee to talk about everything, but we don't think you should know what we know, or hear what we say. It's for your own good."
Canada has suspended all Tamiflu shipments into the US.
Wonderful skit! Ee's just sleeping.
Are you sure of this? I have seen it being advertised on Canadian websites for US Shipment. Very expensive.
"This parrot worker is no more...he has ceased to be!"
Yup!
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