A SENIOR medical officer has urged all doctors to participate
in preparations and surveillance against a possible outbreak of
bird flu and to provide information about the disease to the public.
Dr Kyaw Nyunt Sein, the director of Disease Control at the Department
of Health, said doctors needed to be prepared to respond to and
manage any outbreak, partly because this would ensure they could
provide appropriate advice to the public.
“Timely decision making and appropriate, immediate interventions
are crucial for an effective response,” said Dr Kyaw Nyunt
Sein.
He was speaking at a symposium on bird flu organised by the
Myanmar Medical Association and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., at
the association’s headquarters on November 19. Dr Kyaw Nyunt
Sein said all doctors should also be prepared for the possibility
of a bird flu pandemic, which would occur if the virus began being
transmitted between humans.
The disease, which has killed more than 60 people throughout
East Asia, has so far been transmitted from birds to humans. No
cases of bird flu have been reported in Myanmar.
Dr Kyaw Nyunt Sein said all private and public medical officers
should be on alert for the emergence of clusters of patients with
influenza symptoms. He said health professionals in the public
and private sectors should immediately report any unusual clusters
of respiratory diseases to the Ministry of Health.