Originally published February 21 2006
Ontario medical expert warns about the region's vulnerability to a disease outbreak
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Sheela Basrur, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, discussed Ontario's vulnerability to a major outbreak of an infectious disease, as its medical labs are understaffed and poorly equipped.
A major outbreak of infectious disease would be difficult to contain despite all the lessons learned from SARS, Ontario's chief medical officer of health warns.
Resources to battle a superbug are limited because one-third of public health units don't have a full-time medical officer of health and understaffed provincial laboratories are relying on outdated equipment, Dr. Sheela Basrur said yesterday.
"Ontario will be vulnerable," she told a news conference after releasing her first annual report on the state of Ontario's public health system.
# The provincial public health lab system has just one full-time medical microbiologist, well below the minimum of six recommended in a recent report on a Legionnaire's disease outbreak that killed 17 people at a Scarborough nursing home.
She noted the problems linger despite "significant progress" made on the public health front since SARS killed 44 people locally in 2003, including the stockpiling of antiviral drugs in the event of an influenza pandemic.
The stockpile of Tamiflu, now at 12.4 million doses, is part of the province's emergency plan.
Health Minister George Smitherman said officials are already working on building a better provincial lab system, including a new public health agency and plans for a state-of-the-art $40 million laboratory at the MaRS (Medical and Related Sciences) complex at College and University.
The site has been chosen so the government lab can work more closely with labs at nearby teaching hospitals, with the province "actively recruiting" more microbiologists --- a field in high demand, Smitherman added.
The rubella outbreak --- in an area where many children weren't vaccinated for religious reasons --- quickly grew to 283 cases but was contained with a medical officer of health and other staff borrowed from another part of the province.
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