I refer to the opinion article by Marisa Micallef (TMID, 15 January), entitled Bird flu or AIDS?

It is clear that Ms Micallef decided to write on health topics on which she has little or no knowledge at all. She has even tried to quote from memory on articles that appeared in newspapers more than a year ago!

Contrary to her style of journalism, I would like to quote from documented communiqués which show that Ms Micallef’s conclusions are far from being correct.

On 9 November 2006, Dr Margaret Chan, then director-general elect, in her speech to the World Health Assembly communicated the vision which she presented to the WHO:

“Infectious diseases have staged a comeback. HIV, EBOLA, SARS and Avian Influenza will not be the last bad surprises delivered by the ever changing microbial world and the world faces global threats to health.’ (http://www

.who.int/dg/speeches/2006/wha/en

/index.html)

Dr Chan continued “For global health security, I share your deep concern about the looming threat of an influenza pandemic. We have strong new International Health Regulations coming into force next year.

“We already have in place strong and efficient mechanisms for global outbreak alert and response. These have been tested and proven effective, most recently by SARS and avian influenza.

“But these international mechanisms are not enough. The needs are national as well as global.

“We will support countries in building essential capacity in prevention, preparedness, response and rehabilitation.

“Improving health development and health security means improving health systems. For outbreaks, the international community will not be securely defended until all countries have core surveillance and response capacities in place. The global surveillance system must have no gaps or weak spots.”

Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer in the United Kingdom in his foreword to the Guidelines to the Influenza pandemic wrote:

“The World Health Organisation

(WHO) and other international organisations have recently warned that an

influenza (flu) pandemic is both ‘inevitable’ and ‘imminent’. Such warnings have been fuelled largely by the persistence of a highly virulent strain of ‘bird’ (avian) flu in Asia that experts fear could trigger

another influenza pandemic. While these warnings aim to ensure countries are prepared for such an event, they have also caused public concern over the nature of the threat and our ability to respond to it.

“The consequences of an influenza pandemic would be serious with the numbers of people falling ill and dying being far higher than with ‘ordinary’ winter flu outbreaks.” (http://www.dh.gov.uk

/assetRoot/04/12/17/49/04121749.pdf)

But Ms Micallef finds awe in the implied undue alarm when a public health official embarked on a public awareness of this global threat just over one year ago.

Ms Micallef finds it also strange that the Health Division informed the public it was stockpiling anti-virals.

Maybe Ms Micallef will find it also strange that the Health Division has prepared a whole contingency plan to prepare and respond to this potential threat and this in conjunction with an overall national plan being compiled by the Pandemic Preparedness Committee headed by the Principal Permanent Secretary within the Office of the Prime Minister and represented by permanent secretaries and senior officials from various ministries and a representative from the Opposition Party.

But it seems that we all got it wrong with the latest conclusions reached by Ms Micallef, who writes that this is “a very unlikely risk”.

No scientific research has as yet shown that the anti-virals stockpiled by Malta and all other countries “are absolutely no help against bird flu” and the “drug doesn’t really help if there is such an outbreak.” Maybe we should bring all this newly acquired information to WHO and ECDC.

Worse still, it is unethical and unfair to imply that “the local public health authorities encouraged us to be alarmed and gullible.”

Does Ms Micallef expect the general public to perceive a threat and remain complacent?

The health authorities never advocated the general public to procure their own anti-virals. The Health Division has in fact stockpiled, on recommendations by WHO, enough anti-virals for the projected needs of the Maltese people.

Contrary to Ms Micallef’s cynical comments, it would be in order to take this opportunity to inform your readers that representatives from the European Centre of Disease Control and Prevention and WHO EURO will be doing an inspectory visit to Malta in March to assess our preparedness.

Maybe I should ask Ms Micallef to confer her conclusions to WHO, ECDC and UK Health Protection Agency that we got it all wrong and the influenza pandemic preparations are out of context and possibly a means by which pharmaceutical importers made a lot of money.

I only advise Ms Micallef to be of a better service to her readers by consulting the official websites of WHO, ECDC and CDC and keep herself updated on current situation reports on the said avian influenza and influenza pandemic.

The Health Division has embarked on a close collaboration with the media as a means to convey positive messages on the said threat and to empower the general public, the business community and indeed the whole population in preparing to face such a threat.

Irrespective of whether an influenza pandemic will strike, all our preparedness will help us be ready to respond to any potential threat created by any emerging pathogens such as SARS. At no moment in time was the preparedness for an influenza pandemic done at the expense of neglecting other more prevalent public health threats.

I take this opportunity to ask Ms Micallef to seek permission from the editor to join us and share in this responsibility to prepare the public to constructively face such a potential threat.

Dr Ray Busuttil is Director General (Health)