U.S. health official outlines national strategy for flu pandemic

By Veronika Oleksyn Oct 28, 2005, 6:54 GMT

Washington - U.S. government plans to combat bird flu will include stockpiling antiviral vaccines and drugs, a nationwide response network and stepped-up virus surveillance, the country's top health official said Thursday.

Broad outlines of the U.S. strategy, expected to be announced soon by President George W. Bush, were presented by health secretary Mike Leavitt as the world grapples with the threat that Asian bird flu could trigger a human flu pandemic.

'If the past is prologue, we're overdue for the next pandemic,' Leavitt told reporters.

'If a pandemic hits our shores, it will affect almost every sector of our society, not just health care, but transportation systems, workplaces, schools, public safety and more.'

The Bush administration faces growing pressure to come up with the long-awaited plan to protect U.S. citizens should the H5N1 bird flu virus mutate and spread from person to person.

More than 60 people have died from bird flu in Asia. Concerns about a possible threat to humans have spiralled since the virus was discovered in several European countries in recent weeks.

In an effort to address a shortfall in the nation's vaccine stockpile, the U.S. government on Thursday awarded Chiron Corp. a 62.5-million-dollar contract to produce a bulk supply of a vaccine.

Last month, the U.S. awarded a 100 million contract to drug maker Sanofi-Pasteur for 3.3 million doses of H5N1 vaccines.

Swiss drug maker Roche on Thursday suspended shipments of the antiviral drug Tamiflu to pharmacies in the United States because of hoarding concerns.

Leavitt said the entire nation will have to mobilize in case of a pandemic.

'It will require a coordinated government-wide response, including federal, state and local governments, and it will require the private sector and all of us as individuals to be ready,' he said.

Leavitt said the administration's four-pronged strategy will be supplemented by a 'public health and medical response plan' from the Department of Health and Human Services. He declined to specify when it would be released.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted under pressure from opposition Democrats to include 8 billion dollars for pandemic preparedness in a proposed spending law.

Democrats have blasted the Bush administration for falling behind other countries in preparing for an outbreak.

'America has no plan to protect our nation. The administration has not met its responsibility to coordinate and protect our people,' said Richard J. Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate.

'We still have time to avert serious consequences that a pandemic would bring, but only if we act now,' chimed in Edward M. Kennedy, senior Democrat of Massachusetts.