Print

Mail

wiki links

Chen confident about the nation's bird-flu measures

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that he is confident Taiwan can combat the threat of avian flu, as long as people cooperate with the government, as it has already established sound precautionary measures against any possible epidemic.

Chen made the remarks while addressing a ceremony held to congratulate senior medical personnel on their contributions to society before Doctor's Day celebrations, which will be held next Saturday.

Besides praising the participants, Chen also encouraged them to keep exerting themselves on behalf of the medical profession and in combating the potential threat of bird flu.

"The government has made every effort in preparation to prevent an outbreak of bird flu in the country, but people still have to remain vigilant," he said.

Chen said that there are four lines of defense in the fight against bird flu, these include; stopping sources of infection from overseas, quarantine procedures at the nation's borders, taking preventative measures in the community, and maintaining a strong medical framework.

"As we haven't yet discovered any cases of the H5N1 virus in the country, people shouldn't be nervous about it. What people need to do is to maintain good sanitary practice," he said.

He said that many countries have praised Taiwan for its performance in epidemic prevention and control, and that an international company that recently performed a worldwide country-by-country risk assessment of the best precautions against bird flu placed Taiwan in third position, behind Australia and Japan.

"Medical personnel constantly stand at the frontline in protecting the health of the people," Chen said.

He added that everyone should learn the kind of unselfish behaviour that health professionals display so that everybody can establish and live in a peaceful and harmonious society.
This story has been viewed 2549 times.