Hong Kong MPs: "More funds needed to treat Sars victims"
The virus has been checked but treatment has left serious side effects like memory loss and bone disease. Some people do not receive any aid because they have already reached the assistance ceiling set by the government when the epidemic broke out. The MPs say this is a "disgraceful" situation.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Scmp) Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) victims and their families should receive more financial aid, Hong Kong MPs said Wednesday 17 May.
A motion by Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, MP and doctor, was passed with cross-party support. The doctor said the ceiling of funds available should be reviewed with government funding.
Cheung said 290 people still qualified for assistance from the fund, because they were affected by the virus or were "suspect". Another nine, however, had lost their eligibility after their claims reached the assistance ceiling imposed by the government. "Falling victims to Sars is not purely a personal tragedy as the government should bear a certain level of responsibility," he said. "The government's lack of knowledge about the illness led to flaws in prevention efforts and resulted in many health workers not being properly equipped to fight the epidemic."
The Sars epidemic was hidden by the Chinese government for months, and this led to the rapid spread of the infection in more than 30 countries. The epidemic broke out in Hong Kong in March 2005. No less than 1,755 people were infected, of which 351 died. Scientists and medical staff found themselves facing an unknown disease for which no known treatment was available. They tried all sorts of treatments like steroids; results proved positive and the outbreak was stopped. However, the treatments, especially in large doses, had serious side effects, so that hundreds of the 1,404 survivors now suffer from memory loss, osteoporosis and avascular necrosis (AVN), which is caused when blood stops flowing to the bones, leading to the death of bone cells, affecting mobility and causing pain. Those who have not yet exhibited these side effects are living in fear that they, too, might one day experience them. Many who are suffering can no longer work and have to rely on the government's fund for living and medical expenses.
Cheung described as "disgraceful" the government decision to tell victims they would have to apply for social welfare after being cut off by the fund.
Other MPs have also called for more funding. "It is unforgivable for the government to intentionally leave aside recovered Sars patients and the relatives of victims," said Li Fung-ying, a Unionist MP. Liberal Party legislator Sophie Leung Lau Yau-fun said the situation among some Sars victims was more complicated than foreseen by the fund when it was first set up, especially for those suffering side effects as a result of medical treatment they received.
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18/01/2022 17:20
