EFTHA's letter to the WHO to corrent its wrong message

Dear Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan
The World Health Organization
Geneva, Switzerland

The WHO carried a press release at May 1st, 2008, regarding the outbreak of Enterovirus 71 in some of China's provinces. There have been more than 20 children died of this new outbreak, and many thousands people admitted to the hospitals.

There had been several EV71 outbreaks occurred in south east Asia and western pacific regions in the past decade. WHO and China failed to recognize this diseases continuously, and the outbreaks in Malaysia and Taiwan rendered hundreds of death in those less than 15 years old, respectively, in 1997 and 1998.

Until now, China started to corporate with WHO and others responsible countries, but the progress is too slow and inadequate, even in this Olympic year. We do not wish to see more death and illnesses in coming August.

Moreover, WHO did not send such important disease information to Taiwan, to the health care professionals, as well as Taiwan's health authority timely in late March, when the outbreaks already occurred in China. Nor did the health authority in China. The press carried by WHO was a mistake and irresponsible one that lied on China to inform Taiwan for such urgency for health care.

The EFTHA wishes WHO and China's government respect the principle of health for all, and health rights (to know) as one of the fundamental human rights, to interact and corporate with Taiwan's health professionals and health authority timely in this emergency.

May 3rd, 2008


Ref: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2008_05_01/en/index.html