Kennedy Calls for Funding Increase to Combat West Nile Virus
WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2002–Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said yesterday he wants Congress to increase funding for hospitals and public health programs to protect Americans from the emerging threat of the West Nile Virus.
“In a few short weeks, the virus has spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from border to border,” said Kennedy, adding that the virus “can imperil the safety of the blood supply and transplanted organs.”
As of Tuesday, 2 deaths and 10 human cases of the mosquito-born disease have been reported in Massachusetts this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been 98 deaths in the country since January 1, 2002, according to the CDC.
“What we’ve learned this summer is that mosquitoes can do more than ruin a backyard barbecue,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chairman of Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Governmental Management, Restructuring, and the District of Columbia.
In a joint Senate Committee hearing Tuesday, public health officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. National Institute of Health, and the CDC appeared in order to provide lawmakers with information about the emerging health threat posed by the West Nile Virus. The hearing focused on the adequacy of the federal response to the increased disease incidence as well as assessing current blood supply safeguards.
Recent reports have shown that the virus may be transmitted by blood and by transplanted organs.
“We need to determine whether the FDA and other public health agencies are taking proper steps to protect the safety of the blood supply and transplanted organs, and whether the NIH is developing the new vaccines, therapies and diagnostic tests as rapidly as possible to prevent infection and to protect the health of those affected by West Nile,” Kennedy said.
Currently, there are no drugs on the market, no vaccines and, no diagnostic tests specifically for the West Nile Virus in blood that is donated or transfused.
However, a vaccine for the elderly, and those most at risk for the disease, could be available within 3 years, according to Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH who testified before the committee yesterday.
In his opening statement, Kennedy condemned the Bush administration’s efforts in working to combat the disease.
“Unfortunately, the Administration’s budget steps backward when it comes to protecting the public health,” he said. “While purporting to provide more funding to hospitals to strengthen public health and combat bioterrorism, the President’s budget actually cuts funding to America’s hospitals,” Kennedy said.
The public health officials yesterday all stressed the need for the public to do its part in preventing the disease.
Julie Louise Gerberding, CDC director, recommended removing standing water where mosquitoes thrive, wearing long sleeves, using insect repellant with DEET, and installing proper screens to protect homes.
Published in The Gloucester Daily News, in Massachusetts
