Although the eventuality of a pandemic flu breakout is still remote, the government is taking no chances and a considerable amount of work is going on quietly to ensure that Malta is well-prepared in the event of such an emergency.
Details of the composition of the Pandemic Preparedness Committee and the roles of its members were given to members of the media yesterday at a press briefing chaired by the committee’s chairman, Princi-pal Permanent Secretary and Cabinet Secretary Godwin Grima.
The committee is composed as follows: chairman: Dr Godwin Grima; deputy chairman: Frank Mifsud – permanent secretary, MHEC; members: Dr Michael Farrugia (opposition representative); Dr Philip Von Brockdorff – permanent secretary, MRAE; John Gatt – MIIIT; Frans Borg – MEYE; Alfred Camilleri – MFIN; John Rizzo – Police Commissioner; Dr John Cachia – Director, Institutional Health; Dr Mireille Vella – Director, Veterinary Services; Simon Sammut – OPM; Noel Borg, – MEU.
Dr Grima announced that the spokesman for the committee would be Health Department director Dr Ray Busuttil. Dr Busuttil will also be chairing a planning group which will eventually present a National Pandemic Influenza Response Plan that would be used in the case of any eventuality.
Dr Busuttil said that work on the plan had started in January 2005 and much has been achieved since then, with the diagnostic facilities at all laboratories now upgraded, so that they will be able to provide test results within three hours.
He said that organisational plans had also been put in force at the four major hospitals, as well as pharmacies, and the committee was also at an advanced stage of being able to identify the possible location of backup facilities in case of a major breakout.
Dr Busuttil explained that the department currently has 100,000 doses of anti virus shots which are within the EU guidelines of 25 per cent of the population. He said that the government had also entered into a contract with a major pharmaceutical producer to receive 500,000 doses of the pandemic vaccine, six months after this is produced.
Dr Michael Farrugia said that it was important for the general public to distinguish between normal influenza, avian flu and pandemic influenza. He said that a campaign on personal hygiene was one of the most important issues at this stage, as this minimises the risk of a pandemic outbreak.
The wider PPC structure is a three-tiered committee with a gold command consisting of the Ministerial Cabinet, the PPC and the Strategic Planning Team.
The silver command is made up of the Operations Planning Team and the Logistics and Procurement of Resources Team and the bronze command that consists of the Field Operations.