US States to Receive US$1.3 Bn to Counter Bioterrorism

CIDRAP News reports that USG Dep't. of Health & Human Services (HHS) will distribute over US$1 billion to the States for specific anti-bioterrorism projects. The article has lots of interesting detail, but I was drawn to this bit at the end:

The CDC is also continuing a program begun last year to strengthen infectious disease surveillance in states bordering on Mexico and Canada. A total of $5.44 million will be available for the Early Warning Infectious Disease Surveillance Program in the border states.

The money is for developing and implementing a program to detect, investigate, and report unusual infectious disease cases in the border regions, HHS said. Twenty states are to receive shares of the money, but most of it will go to Texas (about $2 million) and California ($1.5 million).

The CDC's guidelines also ask states to take steps to prepare for an influenza pandemic. One suggestion is that states use CDC funds to buy supplies of the antiviral drug oseltamivir and store them in hospital-based caches funded by HRSA. Health departments could then use the drug to treat their own staff members if needed in a pandemic, the guidelines say.

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