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James Debono
A majority of respondents in a MaltaToday survey have responded to the bird flu scare and the menace of a pandemic by heeding the health authorities’ advice and take the normal influenza jab.
But nearly one-fifth feel victim to panic and misinformation by ordering their own private stocks of anti-virals, with another fifth over-reacting by removing chicken from their diet.
At least 21 per cent of survey respondents confirmed they had stopped eating poultry following the bird flu scare, despite there is no risk of transmission of the flu by eating properly cooked chicken.
Those respondents who do not eat chicken for reasons other than the flu are not included in this figure.
Although an overwhelming majority of 79 per cent have kept chicken on their menu despite the bird flu scare, a 20 per cent drop in consumption is bound to affect the chicken industry.
The survey was held between Monday 24 October and Thursday 27, a week after the much-publicised avian flu simulation exercise, held to assess the response of the health and security agencies after a “farmer” called the Food and Veterinary Division to report that he had found 500 “dead chickens”.
Apparently some Maltese have not understood the difference between reality and simulation. Thinking that dead chickens were really found, some responded by deleting chicken from the menu.
In an attempt to boost the poultry industry, Health Minister Louis Deguara obliged by supping on a chicken drumstick offered him during TV programme Xarabank, but only a slight impact was registered in the market.
Operators still lament they have not recovered from the blow, two weeks after the simulation exercise. Contacted on Wednesday, Buxom Chicken director Edward Borg confirmed that chicken sales have not yet recovered to former levels.
“There has only been a slight recovery in the past days but our sales are still 40 per cent below normal levels. The way this exercise was reported created the impression that dead chickens were really found and this has harmed the industry.”
Flu precaution
But bird flu scare is only an appetiser to an even greater menace – the pandemic. The bird flu can only be transmitted from birds to birds and in very rare instances from birds to humans. It cannot be transmitted from one human being to another. The pandemic is only set to emerge if the bird flu virus mutates into a new virus, which can be transmitted among humans.
The vaccine against the still non-existent pandemic has not been developed. The only vaccine available so far is that recommended to boost immunity against the normal influenza. But the normal influenza vaccine is being recommended by the health authorities as a precaution against the pandemic because immunised people will be less vulnerable when the pandemic strikes.
According to the MaltaToday survey 37.8 per cent of respondents have not yet ordered or taken the normal influenza jab. But the majority of respondents, 62.2 per cent, have heeded the advice of the health authorities and have either taken the jab or have already ordered it.
Understandably respondents over 65 years of age have been more responsive to the appeal of the health authorities. In fact more than 70 per cent of the elderly have either ordered or taken the jab.
But men seem to be less preoccupied with the emerging pandemic than females. In fact only 53.8 per cent of males compared with 65.6 per cent of females have heeded the advice of the health authorities.
The other available medicines providing some a degree of protection against the ravages of the pandemic are anti-virals like Tamiflu. If taken in the first 48 hours after the disease is contracted, these anti-virals could alleviate the symptoms of the flu.
The government has assured the public there will be enough stock of anti-virals to cater for 25 per cent of the population, as recommended by the World Health Organisation by early next year.
But fear that stocks will not arrive in time has prompted thousands of people to pay deposits ranging from Lm5 to Lm15 for each order of Tamiflu to private pharmacies, to stock themselves with this medicinal before the flu strikes.
Most of these orders were registered in summer amidst reports that government had not yet finalised its Tamiflu order. Fearing thousands would hoard medicines in their own homes, the health department issued a circular banning pharmacists from supplying anti-virals without a prescription.
By that time however, a significant part of the population had already ordered its private stocks – in fact, 18.4 per cent of respondents have fallen in the misinformation trap by paying deposits to private pharmacies to get their own stocks of Tamiflu.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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