Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
to combat SarS. although taiwan is politically democratic, its capacity in disease
control turned out to be weak. on average in 2006, a nurse in taiwan had to take care
underdeveloped healthcare system and the lack of an effective surveillance system in
mainland china and Hong Kong render taiwan an isolated island under the threat of
any influenza epidemic. Although informal interactions between health workers in all
three places continue, it is hoped that formal discussions on infectious disease control
can be developed and enhanced in the near future so that South china as a whole will
collectively strengthen its capacity of dealing with any regional health crisis.
Macao remains untested in its governmental capacity to tackle SarS. Surprisingly,
it did not have a single case of SarS. However, non-respiratory infectious diseases
such as dengue fever occasionally broke out in 2003. the Macao government swiftly
contained the dengue fever, thanks to its network of neighbourhood associations that
successfully acted not only as an effective intermediary between the government
and its citizens but also as a mobilising vehicle against mosquitoes, which carry the
disease. whenever cases of avian influenza have broken out in China, the Macao
In early 2008, when the mysterious influenza affected some schoolchildren in Hong
Kong, Macao was on high alert and prepared for a similar outbreak in the territory.
vigilance has become a critical factor shaping Macao's health governance.
Implications for Canada: Difficult Choices Ahead
the varying degrees of preparedness, openness, and responsiveness of asian
governments in handling of infectious disease have implications for canada. canadian
preparedness in anticipation of an influenza epidemic remains insufficient. A gap
exists between the health elites, who appear to be more prepared, and the citizens,
who are relatively unprepared. an indispensable ingredient of preparedness is crisis
consciousness. Surprisingly, even after the SarS crisis, a majority of canadians
appear to treat the influenza epidemic as a non-issue, at least in the short run. None
of the candidates who participated in ontario's municipal and mayoral elections in
november 2006 raised the issue of how the province should tackle any outbreak of the
influenza pandemic. The Ontario municipal elections in October 2007 also ignored
the issue. The question of the influenza pandemic was virtually absent in public
debates and candidates' platforms. when schoolchildren in Hong Kong died in early
2008, apart from the chinese-canadian press and some electronic media outlets, the
canadian media were uninterested. as hundreds of thousands of overseas chinese
reside in canada's major cities, and as many of them travel frequently between
Hong Kong and Canada, Canadian health officials must maintain a vigilant attitude
toward any outbreak of influenza in South china. canadian mainstream media,
which tend to display a north american and european bias in their news coverage,
should cover more asian news, especially the ongoing health developments that
affect canadians swiftly.
