TORONTO - Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman says it's difficult to be fully prepared for an infectious disease outbreak.
However, he adds that five years after the SARS outbreak that killed 44 people in the Toronto area, Ontario's level of preparedness has "dramatically and decidedly advanced."
Smitherman was responding to comments by Dr. Allison McGeer, the head of infection control at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital.
She said Ontario still isn't prepared to manage a large-scale infectious outbreak, but conceded the province is better off than when SARS struck in 2003.
McGeer said Ontario requires a surveillance system and reporting program to track infectious diseases because the province's 178 hospitals still do not have the ability to handle an outbreak.
Smitherman said when it comes to preparing for infectious diseases, "no one should ever conclude that you're fully prepared."
He added that the Ontario Pandemic-Influenza Plan is not set in stone, and will be updated with new information as required.
