http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--clinton-birdflu0303mar03,0,6881438.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
By MARC HUMBERT
Associated Press Writer
March 3, 2006, 4:47 PM EST
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that America is not ready to handle a widespread outbreak of avian flu and that all levels of government appear to be trying to pass the buck.
"The United States is not ready to handle a potential bird-flu pandemic," she said.
"The president's strategy is underfunded and poorly constructed," the former first lady added during a visit to Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. "It is no strategy to say we're going to expect the states to handle this. And, it is no strategy to say the state is going to expect the counties to handle this."
"I don't know what the next lowest level is, but I suppose the counties could then try to pass it off to the villages, the hamlets, the towns and the cities," she said. "We need a national strategy."
Last month, state Health Commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello unveiled a bird-flu plan that would vest counties with much of the decision-making power on how to handle outbreaks.
"We're giving counties the power to do things, but not without our supervision," Novello had said.
Clinton, who is running for re-election this year and is a potential 2008 Democratic presidential contender, used the opportunity to press for support for legislation she is backing that would require a national tracking system so officials know exactly where vaccines are located for avian flu and other infectious diseases.
"There doesn't seem to be as much urgency in Congress as there should be," she said.
Telling Cornell researchers the work they are doing on avian flu is "absolutely essential," Clinton said, "Most experts with whom I have spoken think it's only a matter of time before it hits our shores."
Serious strains of avian flu have already been detected in Asia and in Europe.
A flu virus circulating among birds, the H5N1 virus, has ravaged poultry stocks in Asia since 2003 and recently spread to Europe through migratory birds. Health authorities fear the disease could mutate into a form that spreads from person-to-person, sparking a flu pandemic that could kill millions of people.
A national report by the American College of Emergency Physicians in January found much of the nation was ill prepared for the bird flu.
During her stop at Cornell, Clinton also warned that President Bush's budget proposal could limit research funding to schools such as the College of Veterinary Medicine. Clinton said such cuts were blocked last year and that she hoped for a similar result in Congress this year.
By MARC HUMBERT
Associated Press Writer
March 3, 2006, 4:47 PM EST
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that America is not ready to handle a widespread outbreak of avian flu and that all levels of government appear to be trying to pass the buck.
"The United States is not ready to handle a potential bird-flu pandemic," she said.
"The president's strategy is underfunded and poorly constructed," the former first lady added during a visit to Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. "It is no strategy to say we're going to expect the states to handle this. And, it is no strategy to say the state is going to expect the counties to handle this."
"I don't know what the next lowest level is, but I suppose the counties could then try to pass it off to the villages, the hamlets, the towns and the cities," she said. "We need a national strategy."
Last month, state Health Commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello unveiled a bird-flu plan that would vest counties with much of the decision-making power on how to handle outbreaks.
"We're giving counties the power to do things, but not without our supervision," Novello had said.
Clinton, who is running for re-election this year and is a potential 2008 Democratic presidential contender, used the opportunity to press for support for legislation she is backing that would require a national tracking system so officials know exactly where vaccines are located for avian flu and other infectious diseases.
"There doesn't seem to be as much urgency in Congress as there should be," she said.
Telling Cornell researchers the work they are doing on avian flu is "absolutely essential," Clinton said, "Most experts with whom I have spoken think it's only a matter of time before it hits our shores."
Serious strains of avian flu have already been detected in Asia and in Europe.
A flu virus circulating among birds, the H5N1 virus, has ravaged poultry stocks in Asia since 2003 and recently spread to Europe through migratory birds. Health authorities fear the disease could mutate into a form that spreads from person-to-person, sparking a flu pandemic that could kill millions of people.
A national report by the American College of Emergency Physicians in January found much of the nation was ill prepared for the bird flu.
During her stop at Cornell, Clinton also warned that President Bush's budget proposal could limit research funding to schools such as the College of Veterinary Medicine. Clinton said such cuts were blocked last year and that she hoped for a similar result in Congress this year.