EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/919

(2004/C 78 E/0971)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0036/04

by Jules Maaten (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: SARS outbreak in China and the Philippines

Another case of SARS has come to light in China. The virus found bears similarities with a virus found in civet cats. A probable case of SARS has also been reported in the Philippines. The patient is a woman who had been living in Hong Kong. As a result, the Philippine authorities confined to their homes 34 people who had come into contact with the woman.

1. It is clear from the last SARS epidemic that the SARS virus can strike at lightning speed. The Commission's reply of 18 July 2003 to my Written Question E-1651/03 (1) indicated that, to date, the EU had no crisis management plans to combat this kind of outbreak.

2. Can the EU now in fact take action within 24 hours of a SARS outbreak coming to light? Are measures already in preparation to screen passengers travelling from the People's Republic of China or the Philippines to Europe's airports?

3. Does the consumption of civet cats or similar animals occur in the EU or in future Member States, and, if so, is the EU in a position to take action against this?

4. Does the Commission consider it desirable to place people in quarantine should an outbreak of the SARS virus occur in Europe?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(19 February 2004)

Health authorities in China recently announced a confirmed case and two suspected cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

1. A questionnaire on SARS preparedness prepared by the Commission has been distributed to Member States, Acceding Countries and European Economic Area (EEA)/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Countries, including Switzerland. The returns show that vigilance with respect to SARS in all these countries is high and that a high level of preparedness is being pursued.

2. New technical guidance documents on SARS have been agreed with the Member States including the revised Union case definition of SARS. They include instructions to facilitate rapid communication among the Member States and the Commission in case SARS re-emerges in the Union. The documents are published on the internet. Concerning the measures to be implemented at airports, the World Health Organisation strongly points to the evidence that the screening of incoming passengers (entry screening) from countries with SARS-affected areas is not an effective measure to control the spread of SARS.

3. The Commission is not aware that civet cats are consumed in Europe and their meat cannot be legally imported.

4. The EU, in co-operation with the Member States and through the EU Network of Communicable diseases, now has a strong system in place to monitor and co-ordinate the response to the SARS virus. If SARS returns, intensive surveillance will be applied again and the recommended measures to control SARS (ie case detection, patient isolation and infection control, and contact tracing), will be restored. These measures have proved to be effective in the past and will form the basis of future measures. A great deal was learnt from the SARS outbreak. The EU should move to a position where a system for obtaining advice on a Europe-wide scale is in place. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control proposed by the Commission should contribute to this and be relied upon for timely and effective interventions to deal with threats like SARS.

(1) OJ C 11 E, 15.1.2004, p. 208.