Preparedness for Avian Flu - US House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing Highlights Concerns

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 30 May 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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A US Government Accountability Office official on Thursday at a House Energy and Commerce... Health Subcommittee hearing said that the United States remains unprepared for a potential avian flu pandemic, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. According to Marcia Crosse, health care director at GAO, an HHS draft pandemic plan completed in August 2004 does not include instructions on management of a limited supply of vaccine, whether to restrict travel, or impose quarantines or deployment of federal resources (Nesmith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/27). Crosse also said hospitals remain unprepared to address local epidemics. Health officials interviewed by GAO said that a pandemic could affect the capacity of hospitals if they have to close certain sections to serve as isolation wards, she added. "Moreover, a shortage in work force could increase during an influenza pandemic because higher disease rates could result in high rates of absenteeism among health care workers," Crosse said (CQ HealthBeat, 5/26). CDC Director Julie Gerberding acknowledged that the pandemic plan requires additional provisions, such as instructions on whether to isolate or quarantine infected individuals and those with whom they have had contact. Bruce Gellin, director of the National Vaccine Program Office at HHS, said that the department will complete the pandemic plan this summer (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/27). According to Gerberding, health officials have found "isolated clusters" of avian flu infections worldwide and continue to work to determine whether human-to-human transmission has occurred (CQ HealthBeat, 5/26).

Treatment Concerns
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, said that the agency has begun to test an experimental avian flu vaccine that should "provide some degree of protection" and that CDC has ordered more than two million doses of the vaccine (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/27). NIH plans to complete tests on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine by this summer. However, in the event of a pandemic, "it isn't as if overnight we're going to be able to get a vaccine for everyone who needs a vaccine" because of issues with production. Gerberding added that "we would have to count on a six-month window before we have full-scale global vaccine production" (CQ HealthBeat, 5/26). Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.) also said that CDC should have ordered more than 2.3 million doses of the antiviral medication Tamiflu, which appears effective against avian flu. "I'm sure you will agree with me that that is a mere pittance. It's nothing near what we will need to deal with a flu epidemic. We're staring down a loaded gun," he said. Gerberding said that Tamiflu is only effective when taken in the first 48 hours after infections, adding, "Many people don't even know they have influenza during the first two days" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/27). She also said that CDC might order additional doses of Tamiflu in the future (CQ HealthBeat, 5/26).

A GAO report on flu is available online. Note: you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the report.

Broadcast Coverage
PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on Thursday included an interview with Fauci and Laurie Garrett, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about increased concerns over a potential avian flu pandemic (Suarez, "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," PBS, 5/26).

The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.

In addition, NPR's "Talk of the Nation/Science Friday" is scheduled to include a discussion on vaccine and pandemic research news (Flatow, "Talk of the Nation/Science Friday," NPR, 5/27).

The complete segment will be available online in RealPlayer after the broadcast.

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