Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-04-07-Speech-1-053"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2003-04-07"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)2
dcterms:Language	"it"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20030407.4.1-053"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2003-04-07-Speech-1-0542
lpv:speaker	lp:Antonio Mussa2
lpv:spokenAs	substitute; Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 member; UEN (2001-07-19--2004-07-19)3 unknown; Alleanza nazionale (2001-07-19--2004-07-19)3 member; Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 member; Delegation to the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan and EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and Delegation for relations with Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to make a number of points on behalf of the UEN Group. A year and a half ago, I tabled a question to the Commission stressing that such incidents can occur, for viruses, bacteria and toxic substances are used and manipulated throughout the world without our knowledge. The present viral infection, known as SARS, has caused a veritable wave of panic throughout the world in case it spreads quickly. The fears derive, first and foremost, from the fact that we know little about the infection at present or, at any rate, not enough to be sure that we will all escape infection. The source appears to be in the Guadalong province of China, from where the infection spread to the major cities of the Far East: Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Shanghai and Bejing, and then throughout the world, causing infection and death. As you all know, there is not much control in these areas in terms of either hygiene or the use of appropriate drugs to fight these diseases. We do not know the causative agent of the viral infection in question. It was probably formed when an animal virus, a coronavirus, mutated. It is thought that a virus escaped when a scientist was manipulating it to create the vaccine or modify it. It appears that the scientist died from the virus. What we do know about this syndrome is that infection takes place by – take note – direct transmission but also environmental transmission. The only way of diagnosing the syndrome is as yet symptomatic, for there are no clinical diagnosis kits available. There is no applicable treatment. Infected patients can only be given adjunct treatment, since doctors have not yet identified the active antiviral agents which would be able to fight it. Clearly, since it is not yet possible to identify the causative agent, the people of the European Union and the rest of the world are faced with major difficulties in terms of what action to take, not least in view of a number of major factors which are responsible for the spread of the virus. The source of the spread of the virus appears to be one of the largest financial centres of the Far East, through which large numbers of people and a lot of goods pass: China, a country which has only consented to take part in the exchange of information today – there is no Internet connection between Cuba and China. For all these reasons, we call upon the Commission to take a number of measures. Firstly, to set up a task force of experts – not a body or a committee – to monitor the spread of the disease within the EU. When I go into the operating theatre, I choose a deputy and an assistant; I do not want a school. Secondly, to define, together with the WHO, a standard isolation procedure for suspected cases in EU citizens, to be applied in all the Member States, so that the Member States are not all left to decide on their own national procedures. Thirdly, to call upon all the Member States to set up a database of people who have passed through or stayed in the areas at risk in the last three months, monitoring their state of health, so to be able to take prompt action should they prove to be infected. Fourthly, to lay down, together with the WHO, procedures and time frames for quarantining and disinfecting people, animals and goods coming from the areas at risk, thus avoiding different levels of protection being adopted in the different States. Fifthly, to establish an emergency health fund similar to the funds which used to be set up in respect of natural disasters, so that each Member State can equip itself to face this potential epidemic. These organisation and information strategies are essential if we are to be able to take immediate, focused action when a vaccine becomes available."@en1

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