Posted on 04/23/2003 10:51:55 AM PDT by per loin
Paris - Insurance companies said on Wednesday that no planes exist to safely repatriate severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) victims in accordance with international guidelines.
"Air transport recommendations are so drastic that there is currently no way to repatriate a person infected with Sars from abroad," said Guy Belliache, medical director for French-based insurance company Mondial Assistance. "Even a military aircraft won't do."
Belliache says that guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation and the US Centres for Disease Control include a requirement that aircraft have two ventilation systems to totally isolate the pilot's cabin from that of the patient.
"Such a plane, civilian or military, doesn't exist," said Arnaud de Courcy, medical director for Europ Assistance, the only insurance company in France to have been asked to repatriate a Sars sufferer.
In view of the contradictory guidelines, De Courcy has called for a suitable aircraft to be built.
"France and the European Union should quickly design an aircraft to comply with these criteria," agreed Belliache.
The two doctors said the need is all the more pressing as the Sars epidemic appears to still be in its ascendent phase and could lead to many more requests for repatriation.
Sars has defied health checks at airports and borders to spread to over 25 countries since it first appeared in southern China six months ago. - Sapa-AFP
What a ridiculous, stupid, bureaucratic response. It is simpler to change the criteria. My guess is the idiots that developed the guidelines assumed such planes existed. Well, they don't. You could put the patients in space suits for less money than designing a plane that would rarely be used.
What a ridiculous, stupid, bureaucratic response. It is simpler to change the criteria. My guess is the idiots that developed the guidelines assumed such planes existed. Well, they don't. You could put the patients in space suits for less money than designing a plane that would rarely be used.
Actually, the real problem is not in the criteria but examining reason to transport a SARS patient by airplane in the first place. The mere transport of a patient by definition spreads the footprint of the disease beyond the reach of the geographically infected areas despite the calls for stringent criteria for infection control on aircraft.
If an insurance company or any other organization is worried about the care of patient(s), they should provide the patient(s) the best possible care in the immediate locale they are in. Any attempts to relocate infected patient(s) by plane or other means of transportation will only raise the risk of spreading SARS to uninfected people and disease-free areas.
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