Senate Democrats Seek $4 Billion to Fight Bird Flu
Date: 30-Sep-05
Country: USA
Author: Richard Cowan
But a Senate vote on the measure might be delayed until next week and an influential Republican, Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, said he would try to kill the effort.
Avian flu among flocks in Asia has been growing for several years and outbreaks have been spotted in parts of Russia. So far, 65 people in Asia who are thought to have had close contact with infected birds have died since 2003.
Scientists fear that a mutation of the H5N1 virus could make it transmissible among humans, sparking a worldwide epidemic that could kill millions of people.
"It's the midnight hour. We have to get moving on it now, not next year, not after some study group in the White House bangs this thing around for another three months," said Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat.
Harkin, with the backing of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, wants the government to spend nearly $3.1 billion to stockpile enough doses of an anti-viral drug for half of the US population.
Harkin said there are only 2 million doses on hand now, enough for 1 percent of the population.
'WE OUGHT TO WAIT'
Two anti-viral drugs have been shown to ease avian flu symptoms and maybe even prevent it. Switzerland's Roche Holding AG makes Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, and GlaxoSmithKline makes Relenza, or zanamivir.
Under the Democrats' plan, other funds would be used to increase global surveillance for the disease, increase spending on a vaccine and help states and cities prepare for a large outbreak.
But Stevens said he feared a Senate floor fight over the $4 billion that would be attached to a fiscal 2006 funding bill for the Defense Department containing $50 billion in emergency money for the war in Iraq.
"To compare the money we have in this bill to fund them (US troops in Iraq) with funding a proposal to deal with virus ... that has not yet become a threat to human beings I think is wrong," Stevens said.
"We ought to wait for the scientists to tell us what needs to be done," Stevens added.
International organizations have urged the United States and other countries to be more aggressive against the avian flu outbreak.
A UN official on Thursday said a worldwide drive would be launched to combat a pandemic that could kill half of those infected.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, a surgeon, said he has called on Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt to complete a national preparedness plan.
It was unclear whether Frist would support Harkin's $4 billion proposal, which comes at a time when congressional Republicans are trying to cut domestic spending to help pay for hurricane relief.