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HARTFORD -- As new cases of West Nile Virus are identified in birds and mosquitos in the tristate area, Senator Joe Lieberman called Monday for improved leadership from the federal government in responding to infectious disease outbreaks and urged the formation of a unified federal West Nile Virus response plan.
The recommendations are contained in a comprehensive report released today, which also urges closer coordination between experts in the fields of human and animal health and calls for an assessment of states' preparedness to deal with another outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease.
"Last year's West Nile Virus experience was a wake-up call that exposed holes in the public health community's ability to respond to emerging infectious diseases, in general, and West Nile, in particular," Lieberman said. "But it was also a blueprint for how to improve our response to an outbreak the next time."
Much of what was found after an 8-month-long investigation by the Democratic staff of the Governmental Affairs Committee, on which Lieberman serves as Ranking Minority Member, was good news. "The West Nile Virus experience showed that the United States has unparalleled capabilities to recognize and respond to the outbreak of an emerging infectious disease," according to the report, titled Expect the Unexpected: The West Nile Virus Wake Up Call.
But the investigation found shortcomings, as well. For example, the Centers for Disease Control initially misidentified the virus as St. Louis encephalitis and failed to order more specific lab tests quickly enough, despite evidence the virus was something other than St. Louis encephalitis. Additionally, the organizational and cultural gaps between the public and animal health communities resulted in an initial failure to make the critical link between diseased birds and horses and diseased people. Finally, only federal labs had the capability to test human, bird and animal tissue for the disease, and therefore were inundated with requests from states and localities.
In a letter dated July 24, 2000, Lieberman requested Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to review the report and its recommendations.
Among them:
** Develop a unified federal West Nile Virus response plan, which would also be relevant in case of a bioterrorist attack.
** Accelerate research to find a West Nile Virus vaccine.
** Establish a national West Nile Virus web site to keep the public and the media well-informed.
** Identify immediate state and local needs and emergency funding sources.
** Continue "robust" funding of infectious disease research.
Click here for Senator Lieberman's Statement on West Nile Virus report
Click here to read Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Report West Nile Virus: Expect the Unexpected
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