human transmission, page-2

Chuck sounds bird-flu alarm


With experts saying a devastating pandemic of deadly bird flu could soon wreak havoc worldwide, Sen. Charles Schumer warned yesterday that the feds are unprepared.
"We must prepare for the worst because if we don't, once avian flu arrives we will be defenseless," said Schumer (D-N.Y.). He said the federal government should begin stockpiling vaccines to combat bird flu, which has killed 40 people who caught it from infected poultry in Asia.

Only one victim caught the virus from another human, but the bug is constantly mutating. If it takes a form that spreads easily among humans, millions could die, experts say.

Drug companies don't want to spend money on vaccines that might go unused or become obsolete, Schumer said. So he has proposed guaranteeing them $200 million to jump-start the effort.

"$200 million now is a small price to pay to avoid a disaster that will certainly cost billions," Schumer said at the First Ave. complex of the NYU Medical Center.

Bird flu could hit New York particularly hard, Schumer said, because the city is big, dense and visited by more than 4 million international travelers each year.

"Once the avian flu develops in people it will get to New York in the blink of an eye," Schumer said.

Originally published on March 7, 2005