[Mb-civic] America's response to avian flu - Edward M. Kennedy - Boston Globe Op-Ed

[William Swiggard]

America's response to avian flu

By Edward M. Kennedy  |  October 16, 2005

THE RACE against time by the people of the Gulf Coast to save themselves 
from Hurricane Katrina is a tragic episode in our recent history. We 
watched as fellow citizens unable to escape in time cried out 
desperately for help as the storm hit and the flood waters overwhelmed 
the city. The indelible images of the sick and elderly succumbing to the 
flood, families torn apart by evacuations, and citizens trapped without 
food or basic sanitation are powerful reminders that our preparation and 
response was much too little and too late.

The outbreak of avian flu in Asia and its recent spread to Europe 
signals another race against time. We have a chance to protect ourselves 
before time runs out. The disease has affected relatively few people so 
far, since human-to-human transmission is rare. But one out of every two 
people infected dies, and experts warn that a large-scale pandemic could 
occur at any time as the virus improves its capability to attack humans.

In 1918, we saw how pandemic flu could cripple our nation. As the 
Spanish flu swept across the nation, half a million Americans died. 
Entire cities and even our military were brought to a standstill by the 
invisible, alarmingly efficient killer, and researchers have found 
striking similarities between the virus of 1918 and the virus currently 
affecting Asia. As other nations move ahead to prevent a potentially 
devastating flu pandemic, we are falling dangerously behind.

Last winter, just as they were unprepared for Katrina, the 
administration did not have a backup plan when a plant making nearly 
half of the nation's flu vaccine supply shut down. Now they still don't 
have a plan to prepare for a pandemic flu. Other nations have long 
recognized the urgency of such planning. Japan issued its plan in 1997. 
Canada, Britain, and Australia each announced their plan over a year 
ago. They're putting their plans into action right now, while we're 
waiting to read ours for the first time. America deserves better. 
Massachusetts issued its first plan for pandemic flu nearly four years 
ago. Still, much remains to be done to protect against the flu that 
requires national guidance -- a finalized federal plan is critical to 
our efforts.

We also don't have enough antiviral medicine to treat flu victims. The 
World Health Organization has asked nations to put aside enough medicine 
to treat 25 percent of their population as a stopgap until we develop an 
effective vaccine. We have only enough to treat 2 percent of Americans, 
while nations such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands acquired a 
sufficient supply months ago. Current skyrocketing demand for flu 
medicines means that it will take months or even years to build up an 
adequate stockpile. We must start the process of acquiring such medicine 
immediately.

...continued:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/10/16/americas_response_to_avian_flu/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20051016/652fe719/attachment.htm