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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Severe Acute Respiratory SyndromeNew Sars Infection Control Advice IssuedThe latest national infection control guidelines and advice for Australian doctors, health care workers and the general public about SARS were issued today by Federal health authorities.The Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Professor Richard Smallwood said the new guidelines provided more specific information and advice for travellers, health care facilities, general practitioners and the community.”The Federal Health Department has been in close contact with doctors, hospitals and health care workers since the first SARS Alert was issued by the World Health Organisation on 12 March,” Professor Smallwood said.”As more has become known about SARS and the level of precautions required to provide the best possible protection to reduce the spread of this new disease, we have provided that information to the Australian community.”More detailed guidelines for health care administrators were developed in mid-April and today we have posted onto our website the most up-to-date, detailed and practical information for the health care sector, travellers and the general public.”Professor Smallwood said the Guidelines also included new and expanded advice for ambulance workers, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the hotel industry, aged care facilities and specific information for hospitals about standards and maintenance of negative pressure rooms for in-patient care.”This is a comprehensive document that includes the best possible advice from a range of Australian and international sources. I encourage everyone involved in health care and anyone who has a need for information about SARS infection controls to access these documents,” he said.”Fortunately, SARS has not impacted on Australia to the extent that it has in other countries but the Australian Government has taken a range of actions to ensure we are prepared to handle a case of SARS. “These new and updated guidelines are a vital tool in ensuring all of our systems have relevant and consistent information for dealing with the SARS situation.”The Guidelines were developed by the Federal Health Department in consultation with the Communicable Diseases Network Australia. They have been posted onto the Federal Health Department’s website at: www.health.gov.au/sars.htmProfessor Smallwood said the Guidelines would continue to be updated and distributed as new information and advice about SARS became available.Situation updateThere are no new patients under investigation for SARS in Australia. Three people remain under investigation. They are:A 62-year-old man in New South Wales (notified on 14 May), who is in hospital; A 66-year-old man in Queensland (notified on 9 May), who is in hospital;A 36-year-old man in Queensland (notified on 12 May), who is in home isolation.PCases under investigation are people who have presented with some of the symptoms of SARS, including appropriate travel history and are therefore, as a precaution, being placed under medical investigation. To date, 134 people have been placed under investigation in Australia as suspect or probable cases of SARS. Of those, six have been notified by Australian health authorities to the World Health Organisation as probable SARS cases. There has been no local transmission of SARS in Australia.In the past 24 hours, a further three people have been referred for assessment for SARS at Australian international airports. None met the medical criteria for a SARS case and all were cleared. All were at Sydney Airport.Since the introduction of new quarantine clearance arrangements at all Australian international airports on Friday 4 April, a total of 416 people have been assessed and cleared.The Federal Health Department’s public information phone line received a further 220 calls yesterday (Thursday) bringing the total number of calls to 30,146 since the line was established on 28 March.Professor Richard Smallwood AOCHIEF MEDICAL OFFICERCommonwealth Dept. of Health and AgeingGPO Box 9848 Canberra ACT 2601 (Source: RACP, Media Release from the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, 16 May 2003)


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Dates

Posted On: 23 June, 2003
Modified On: 5 December, 2013


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