# 1642
After several days of propaganda and nonsense filling the pages of many Pakistani newspapers, we are now seeing a return of more credible reporting of the bird flu issue.
Still, we are getting very little `hard news' out of Pakistan, which may have more to do with the recent political instability and the upcoming elections than it does the level of bird flu activity in that nation.
Of course, maybe it really has quieted down.
Today we are hearing about the lack of surge capacity, along with respirators, isolation units, and specialists needed to handle an outbreak of human H5N1 infections.
Pakistan is not alone in this situation, however. Few hospitals around the world are equipped to handle a large surge of pandemic victims.
For an excellent overview of hospital surge capacities here in the United States, read DemfromCt's excellent blog Pandemic Challenges For Hospitals
KARACHI: Hospitals lack capacity to handle bird flu patients
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, Feb 10: No government hospital in the city is in a position to offer the much-needed treatment to bird flu patients in isolation, according to medical professionals who see the H5N1 virus that appeared in the country a couple of years ago as a serious threat to public health.
Questioning the major government hospitals’ capacity to handle bird flu cases, the experts say that in a situation when a majority of hospitals in the public sector are not up to the mark in critical care facilities, including isolation wards, biohazards protection wears and equipment, respirators and ventilators, it will be unwise to expect that they will to do the needful in case of bird flu pandemics.
Karachi is now included in the rank of cities of the world where the pathogenic avian influenza has crept in to stay for some time and as such danger to human paramedics should be a major concern, says an official expert on bird flu.
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CDC guidelines
According to the guidelines recommended by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, avian flu H5N1 patients need to be placed in a private room that has monitored negative air pressure in relation to the corridor and anteroom.
Moreover, experts say that a medical team handling the bird flu patients should include a lung specialist, a paediatrician, an anaesthetist, a clinical pathologist, a microbiologist and specially trained nurses and have high-tech isolation rooms that can accommodate up to six patients with biohazards protection facilities.
A survey of major hospitals, run by federal, provincial and district governments, suggests that none of them are prepared to handle and provide relief to bird flu patients. They have less space for a major modification as they are already over-occupied with routine exercises and procedures and would hardly be able to spare staff and necessary machines for the purpose.
