tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
A front-line scientific squad which has responded to major outbreaks of disease such as SARS, Hendra and the swine flu is to be disbanded.
Funding has run out for the program which provided the "investigative backbone" for Australia's infectious disease response for 20 years, raising concerns among public health experts.
Emeritus Professor Robert Douglas, from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University (ANU), along with fellow academics, is calling for an alternate source of funding to be found.
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He said Australia did not have an equivalent of the US' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and so many of its vital functions fell to the Master of Applied Epidemiology (MAE) program operating at ANU.
Every young scientist involved in the program spends two years "immersed in disease surveillance and outbreak investigations" around the country.
"They serve as a flying squad to respond at short notice to unusual infectious disease events that present potential treats to the population's health," Prof Douglas said.
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http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...ase-squad-to-be-disbanded-20101114-17sey.html
Funding has run out for the program which provided the "investigative backbone" for Australia's infectious disease response for 20 years, raising concerns among public health experts.
Emeritus Professor Robert Douglas, from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University (ANU), along with fellow academics, is calling for an alternate source of funding to be found.
Advertisement: Story continues below
He said Australia did not have an equivalent of the US' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and so many of its vital functions fell to the Master of Applied Epidemiology (MAE) program operating at ANU.
Every young scientist involved in the program spends two years "immersed in disease surveillance and outbreak investigations" around the country.
"They serve as a flying squad to respond at short notice to unusual infectious disease events that present potential treats to the population's health," Prof Douglas said.
...
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...ase-squad-to-be-disbanded-20101114-17sey.html