Feds: Bird flu border closures unlikely
WASHINGTON - Closing
U.S. borders would be the last option in combating the spread of bird
flu, a senior State Department official said Monday.
It would not be likely to decrease the number of cases, would
interrupt essential services and would disrupt lawful border crossings,
said Paula J. Dobriansky, undersecretary of state for democracy and
global affairs.
"Avian flu is not only a health issue. It has economic, social and
security ramifications," Dobriansky said at a seminar at the Nixon
Center, a private think tank.
Dobriansky outlined a U.S. government program in which information
and other support is provided to 46 countries. Congress has provided
$3.8 billion to finance this year's expenses.
The Agriculture Department's inspector general last week reported
that the Bush administration lacked a comprehensive plan to test and
monitor bird flu in commercial poultry.
Dobriansky declined to reply directly to the report, saying it was
not issued by the State Department. However, she said "our efforts have
been extremely well-coordinated" and include strong support for the
World Health Organization and the U.N. Food Agency.
There have been outbreaks of the disease in 53 countries, leading to the deaths of 130 people, Dobriansky said.
If the disease escalates it could lead to civil unrest and
instability, the State Department official said, and she likened the
potential impact to the bubonic or Black Plague, which started in China
and ravaged Europe in the 14th century.
Most human cases of bird flu have been traced to contact with sick
birds. In Vietnam, 42 people have died, and in Indonesia, 39, since the
virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/14907368.htm
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