Thursday, October 4 1:38 AM SGT

To plug holes, boost response, lawmakers seek three billion to fight bioterror

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (AFP) - The United States is underprepared to defend against any bioterrorist attack, requiring a boost in funds for a coordinated local, state and federal prevention system, lawmakers and officials said Wednesday.

US Senators, in testimony before health subcomittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, requested three billion dollars to boost US capacity to ward off attacks by biological or chemical agents, develop vaccinations against known biological threats and improve food safety standards.

"The nation today faces grave new health threats that we are poorly prepared to fight," said Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy, who with Tennessee Republican Bill Frist requested 1.4 billion dollars to be allocated to "prevention, preparedness and response" mechanisms to guard against bioterror.

Enhancing intelligence capabilities should be a top priority, Frist told the committee, as it is crucial to know "who has access to and is capable of deploying biochemical agents."

But the bulk of funding and attention needs to be devoted to arming public health providers on the local and state levels with the tools and knowledge they need to treat victims of a bioterrorist attack.

"We have allowed our public health system -- the front line of our defense -- to deteriorate over the past 20 years," Frist said. Many public health laboratories "are simply not equipped to efficiently diagnose infections and other diseases associated with biochemical weapons."

Another area where the United States is woefully underprepared is in securing food delivery and security, said North Carolina Democrat John Edwards, who with Nebraska Republican Chuck Hagel proposed grants of 350 million dollars, part of a 1.6 billion-dollar request, for agricultural counterterrorism.

"The USDA (US Department of Agriculture) last year was allocated 712 million dollars to inspect 6,000 food establishments. The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) received only 260 million dollars to inspect 57,000 establishments," Edwards said.

"Of the 7,000 food-borne illnesses identified, 85 percent were linked to the FDA -- clearly there is a gaping hole in that agency's ability to do its job effectively."

Once the preparedness safeguards are in place, attention can turn to the US response to a bioterror threat. The National Pharmaceutical Stockpile, containing necessary therapies including vaccines available to treat any pandemic or emergency, would see its funding boosted by more than 600 million dollars under the combined proposals.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson testified that the first-ever deployment of an NPS "push pack" occurred September 11 in New York after two hijacked planes destroyed the 110-story twin towers of the World Trade Center, burying more than 5,000 people beneath the rubble.

Eight 50-tonne push packs of medical supplies are stashed across the country -- to be available to a disaster area within 12 hours -- as part of an HHS emergency response system established this spring, Thompson said, that will assist 122 cities nationwide better prepare for an emergency.

Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health and the FDA on an accelerated production of a smallpox vaccine to be produced by 2002 instead of 2004 or 2005 as was originally forecast, Thompson said.

"But as President (George W.) Bush has said, we must not be intimidated" by a possible biological attack, Thompson advised the packed hearing.

"As a nation we must deal with this sensitive issue in a rational manner. People should not be scared into believing they need to buy gas masks. And people should not be frightened into hoarding medicine and food. There is nothing we know of to warrant such actions."

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2001

Answers

Notice also, the last sentence...where it uses the word hoarding. You will hear that word now more often, as people try to prepare.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

I thought they wanted us to spend money??? TeeHee.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

Yeah, to fly on planes that seem to be having a wee bit of problems right now. I think I will save my money... when it comes to buying a ticket.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001