Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:43:0
Paul Icamina - News Room Administrators News Writer
Edinburgh, Tristan da Cunha (AHN) - An international operation is underway to contain an acute virus that is spreading in Tristan da Cunha, the world's most remote community in the middle of the south Atlantic.
The health of the elderly and the very young is the main concern, said Michael Swales, chairman of the island association, adding three patients are confined in a four-bed hospital which was full to overflowing last week.
The only doctor on the island has appealed for medical supplies for many of the 271 British citizens who have developed severe breathing problems, the BBC reported. The UK's Falmouth Coastguard is coordinating an international operation.
The volcanic island has no airstrip while merchant ships in the area are unlikely to have the necessary drugs on board. There were no British military vessels nearby.
It is visited occasionally by South Africa's polar research vessel the SA Agulhas, while fishing vessels the MV Edinburgh and MV Kelso make more regular trips from South Africa.
A British dependency, Tristan da Cunha is about 38 square miles (98 square kilometers) that is part of a group of islands about 1,500 miles (2,800 kilometers) west of Cape Town, South Africa.
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