Political Quotes

“I want to briefly discuss a GAO report that was released earlier this week to be sure that other Senators are aware of. The report, entitled ``Global Health: Framework for Infectious Disease Surveillance,'' was commissioned by Senator McConnell and myself, and Senators Frist and Feingold. It investigates the existing global system, or network, of infectious disease surveillance, and will be followed by a second report which analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of this network and make recommendations for strengthening it. We requested this report in response to a growing concern among public health officials about the inability of many countries to identify and track infectious diseases and respond promptly and effectively to disease outbreaks. In fact, the World Health Assembly determined in 1995 that the existing surveillance networks could not be considered adequate. By way of background, the term ``surveillance'' covers four types of activities: detecting and reporting diseases; analyzing and confirming reports; responding to epidemics; and reassessing longer-term policies and programs.”