NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue to Receive $2M of Federal Funding to Advance Avian Flu Preparedness

[Commonground]

Jan 13, 2025​
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue today announced it will receive $2 million from the federal government to enhance national avian influenza preparedness, one of only thirteen institutions nationwide to receive this funding. Bellevue Hospital is the designated Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC) for Region 2, leading special pathogen preparedness and response efforts in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The funding announcement is timely and critical, with the recent development of the first H5N1-related human death in the U.S. The funding is part of a comprehensive $306 million investment by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of the nation’s H5N1 Avian Flu response. H5N1 is a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus that is widespread among wild birds globally and has been responsible for outbreaks in poultry and dairy cows. While the risk to the U.S. general population remains low, the virus has a historical fatality rate of over 50%. The risk of H5N1 coming to New York City is low.​

Today’s announcement builds on the ongoing H5N1 preparedness activities at NYC Health + Hospitals, including the H5N1 training exercise held by the health system and the NYC Health Department in October.​

Continued: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.o...al-funding-to-advance-avian-flu-preparedness/

 

[Commonground]

from the above article:

“As part of NETEC and as the Level 1 RESPTC for Region 2, Bellevue Hospital understands that effective response requires both expertise and extensive coordination,” said Vikramjit Mukherjee, MD, NETEC Co-Principal Investigator, and Director of the Special Pathogens Program and Director of Critical Care Services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. “Our established relationships with Special Pathogens Treatment Centers (SPTCs) and frontline facilities ensure that we can rapidly disseminate critical protocols and training to healthcare systems and emergency preparedness partners across the country.”

This article below provides another quote from Vikramjit Mukherjee, MD:


January 24, 2025
Bird flu isn’t an immediate health threat in New York. But preparations have begun

As more cases of bird flu emerge across the country, public health leaders in New York City are watching warily — and making preparations in case the virus becomes a more immediate threat.​
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Locally, some bird flu preparations are underway. Bellevue Hospital, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals system and a regional hub for special pathogen preparedness, is gearing up for the possibility that bird flu becomes a more serious public health threat. This month, the hospital announced that it would receive $2 million for bird flu preparedness efforts, part of a wave of federal funding released in the final weeks of the Biden administration.

​“We’ve been tracking the avian influenza cases that have sprung up across the country,” said Dr. Vikramjit Mukherjee, the director of the Special Pathogens Program and of Critical Care Services at Bellevue. “We believe that it’s a matter of time before it becomes more significant.”​
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“You have more and more spread now,” said Dr. Michael Merson, a clinical professor of global and environmental health at the NYU School of Global Public Health. “The question obviously is, is it going to be a mutation into humans, and we get person-to-person spread? That would be the most alarming situation.”​

Continued: https://www.healthbeat.org/newyork/2025/01/24/bird-flu-risk-nyc-health-hospitals/

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