Osterholm says US not prepared for disease outbreak
Kirsti Marohn, kmarohn@stcloudtimes.com 5:46 p.m. CDT May 19, 2015
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Osterholm, an internationally known speaker and national adviser on public health preparedness, said the avian flu spotlights the need for more action to prepare and prevent such outbreaks.
"We have no real preparedness, and we're seeing that right now with avian influenza," he said.
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With avian influenza, Osterholm said more research is needed to figure out how the disease is spreading. He believes it's likely traveling from farm to farm by wind, which would fundamentally change what needs to be done to control its spread.
For many years, Americans have believed they were immune from such foreign diseases, Osterholm said, but the avian flu outbreak has shown how wrong that belief is. The virus has killed millions of poultry in Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas.
"It's just a matter of time before it's across the whole continent," he said.
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