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| February 18, 2007 | Sunday | Muharram 29, 1428 |
Australia to immunise Beijing-bound athletes
SYDNEY, Feb 17: The Australian Olympic Committee Saturday said it will launch a large-scale immunisation program for athletes competing at next year's Beijing Olympics amid concern over diseases including bird flu.
The AOC said over the next few months about 1,000 potential team members will be offered vaccinations to avoid infections that might affect their performance.
The vaccinations will be for hepatitis, typhoid, polio, tetanus, whooping cough and diphtheria, measles-mumps-rubella and influenza.
“This is simply a precautionary measure to ensure the athletes don't fall ill before or during competition,” AOC president John Coates said. “We have a responsibility to provide our athletes with adequate protection while they compete for Australia at the Games.”At the first team management meeting here Saturday, Coates revealed that the 2008 Australian Olympic team will include a team of 50 specialist medical staff.
He said they will form part of a massive Australian team of approximately 799, including 507 athletes and 292 support staff.
“Beijing is very hot and humid in August and there are concerns about air quality,” he said.
“How we can overcome these problems, as well as the cultural differences in China, are all part of our planning.
“The organising committee in Beijing (BOCOG) has made air pollution a priority.
“They are working with the (China's) State Environmental Protection Administration to ensure good air quality during the Games and we expect factories will be closed and cars kept off the roads to minimise the pollution.”Melbourne doctor Peter Baquie, who leads the Australian medical team, said Beijing posed “challenges” not seen in recent Olympics.
“Beijing will introduce some medical challenges not encountered in recent Olympics, but I have absolute faith in BOCOG'S planning and public health strategies to minimise these issues,” Baquie told the meeting.
The AOC said Baquie is working closely with each sport to implement a medical strategy well in advance of the Games.
He has already formed two small advisory groups with specialist physicians covering respiratory problems and infectious diseases including bird flu.
Baquie said the immunisation program will begin this month as different teams will be competing in test events in Beijing throughout the year.
He said the process will take six months to complete and duties will be shared between the team medical staff, medical officers attached to the national sporting federations, state sports institutions and local medical practitioners.
Baquie also said food and water hygiene in Beijing was critical.
He said BOCOG has assured the AOC that water in the Olympic Village would be purified and they will provide bottled water for drinking, adding has no doubts about hygiene in the athletes' dining hall.
“BOCOG has assured us it will more than match the four-five star hotel standards in all Asian cities in terms of food and water safety,” he said. —AFP
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