Cliff Stearns: “the prospect of an avian flu pandemic has mobilized government officials and health care professionals across the United…”

“the prospect of an avian flu pandemic has mobilized government officials and health care professionals across the United States. Every year there is a new outbreak of flu strains, with potentially serious consequences for the elderly, children and people with compromised immune systems. In his address this morning, President Bush accurately differentiated between traditional flu viruses and the avian flu. This specific flu strain, H5N1, is particularly virulent, with a 50 percent mortality rate once contracted. To date, 110 people have been infected, and 60 deaths have been attributed to this flu. The virus has been tracked from Mongolia and Siberia, through the Ukraine and Croatia to Turkey. Avian flu has spread to 16 countries. There is not yet an avian pandemic in the United States, but as we live in an ever-shrinking world with all our travel, we must be prepared for its unwelcome arrival. In this week's edition of Newsweek, Dr. Margaret Chan, head of preparedness for the World Health Organization, states, ``Key factors to combating a global pandemic are early detection, quarantines, availability of vaccines and antiviral drugs, and the state of hospital readiness to treat those infected.'' I would like to focus on one of these key factors in particular, the availability of this medication. On May 4 of this year in the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee where I serve, hearings were held on the current state of preparedness for the upcoming flu season.…”