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Monday, November 21, 2005
Public told to report fowl deaths to cops
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
NOWADAYS, when you see or know of someone getting killed, you should go and report the crime to the police. Soon, when you see or know of any bird or fowl that dies, you must also have to report it to the police.
Thus described a group of concerned doctors and local officials in a meeting with Mayor Braulio Yaranon wherein they planned to institutionalize the Baguio City Health Response Council (BCHRC) and establish proactive health care services to deter any possible infection or spread of avian influenza or bird flu, which has since afflicted other Asian countries.
"Although no incidence has yet been reported in the Philippines, we have to assure our constituents in Baguio that we are doing something about it before it actually happens," said Councilor Erdolfo Balajadia, chairman of the City Council committee on health and sanitation, ecology and environmental protection.
Balajadia, along with other concerned City Government officials and doctors, came up with a plan to set up the necessary contingency measures short of declaring an emergency "to prevent any projected damage that may occur in the advent of (bird flu) and other diseases or illnesses that may cause a loss of income derived from tourism."
City Tourism officer and concurrent City Administrator's Office officer-in-charge Benedicto Alhambra, who also came up with a discussion paper from which the plans will be drafted, said "there is a need to harness the resources of concerned agencies and institutions, specifically in the medical field, to implement a program through the institutionalization of the BCHRC and establish proactive health care services to cater to local residents and tourists alike."
Those who would compose the council are heads or representatives of the City Health Office, the Department of Health (DOH) Regional Office, the Baguio General Hospital (BGH), Baguio Medical Center (BMC), St. Louis University Hospital of the Sacred Heart, Sto. Niño Hospital, Filipino Chinese Hospital, Notre Dame Hospital, the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Hospital, Pines City Doctors Hospital, the Benguet General Hospital, the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) and local associations of medical doctors, pharmacists and pharmaceutical companies.
During the meeting, BGH Director Manuel Factora said when it comes to bird flu, "prevention is still the best option. Once you are infected, there is no known cure yet and the most that can be done to suspected carriers of the virus is to treat them with supportive medication."
Factora said although the symptoms of bird flu are similar to those manifested by patients with other forms of influenza, "once there is any report of infection in a particular place, an area measuring three kilometers in radius has to be isolated, and every bird within that area has to be killed to prevent its spread."
Participants in the meeting advised that the City Government should be prepared to address various diseases to ensure the safety and health of residents and tourists. They said there is also a need to institutionalize a body to implement preventive measures and create a system of coordination among the different health and medical institutions in the city to address medical emergencies involving members of the community so as to prevent a scenario similar to what happened when meningococcemia hit some areas of Baguio last year.
They are seeking the release of P1.5 million from the City Government for the conduct of a trainer's training program, which would enable personnel to go out into the barangays to teach barangay officials and residents on the proper preventive and hygienic measures needed to prevent any possible infection or spread of bird flu or any other diseases in Baguio.
They also advised the public to be aware of any incidence where a bird, whether domesticated or not, is killed, and to report the incidents to the police. In turn, they said, the police will be required to receive the reports and transmit the information to the Department of Agriculture (DA) so that proper tests may be conducted to find out whether the birds died of bird flu or not.
(November 21, 2005 issue)
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