Arguing that an ounce of international prevention will be worth more than a pound of cure, health ministers from 8 nations and the European Union have agreed to develop a concrete plan to strengthen their capacity to combat biological, chemical and nuclear terrorism. Although no time line has been set, federal Health Minister Allan Rock said the plan be crafted “as soon as possible.”
Among measures being considered are joint procurement strategies to reduce the costs of vaccines and antibiotic drugs, collaborative research on new diagnostic tests and vaccines, joint training of emergency response teams and improved links between disease-control laboratories.
Canada is taking the lead role in developing the international plan to bolster security against bioterrorism. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the US and the European Union have each agreed to designate a “point person” in that effort.
“The way we combat fear [of bioterrorism] is by reassuring our populace that we are taking every possible measure,” Julio Frenk, Mexico's minister of health, said during the meeting of ministers in Ottawa in November. Tommy Thompson, the US Secretary of Health & Human Services, said the US has tried to do that by purchasing 250 million doses of smallpox vaccine to augment its current stockpile of 54 million doses.
Rock said mass vaccinations aren't justified at this time, but he confirmed that Health Canada is also examining ways to bolster its smallpox-vaccine stockpile, and may piggyback an order for 30 million doses on to the US order, or develop domestic capability to supply the vaccine. Canada had roughly 380 000 doses on hand in November.