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Bush announces $7.1 billion plan to fight bird flu

Infection Control Monitor, November 4, 2005

President Bush unveiled a $7.1 billion plan on Tuesday to provide early detection, containment, treatment, and vaccine production in preparation for a potential bird flu pandemic, reports CNN.com. The funding plan, which Bush will present to Congress, requests

* $1.2 billion for the government to purchase enough doses of the bird flu vaccine to protect 20 million Americans

* $1 billion to stockpile more anti-viral drugs that ease the bird flu symptoms

* $2.8 billion to speed the development of vaccines as new strains emerge

* $583 million for states and local governments to prepare emergency plans

* $251 million to help other countries train personnel and draw up plans to detect and contain an outbreak

While bird flu has yet to spread from human to human, Bush stressed the importance of preparedness.

"A pandemic is a lot like a forest fire," he said. "If caught early, it might be extinguished with limited damage; if allowed to smolder undetected, it can grow to an inferno that spreads quickly beyond our ability to control it."

Bird flu has spread to 16 countries and killed 62 people, according to the World Health Organization.

Domestically, the United States is launching the National Biosurveillance Initiative "to detect, quantify, and respond to outbreaks of disease in humans and animals."

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