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Apr 2, 2007 2:50 pm US/Central
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'U' To Receive Federal Funding To Study Bird Flu
Washington, D.C. (AP) ―
The government's work to prevent an influenza pandemic took on a more academic look Monday when it selected six universities and medical centers to help lead research efforts.
The Department of Health and Human Services will spend $23 million a year for the next seven years to establish six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. One of them is at the University of Minnesota.
The centers will research how flu viruses evolve and adapt. They'll also identify factors that determine whether a virus causes mild illness or death, and they'll determine the prevalence of bird flu in animals that come in close contact with people.
"The threat of an influenza pandemic is a major source of concern for the public health community," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci said the centers will help the federal government's efforts in monitoring the virus and generating the tools necessary to prepare and respond to a pandemic.
In addition to the University of Minnesota, the other five are: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, the University of California at Los Angeles, Emory University, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y.
In addition to research, the centers will also track influenza in animals and people, both in the states and internationally. For example, the University of Minnesota will survey for avian influenza among people, poultry, pigs, dogs, cats, and wild birds in rural Thailand. It will also monitor wild birds in Vietnam and Laos, as well as poultry operations in other Asian countries.
The University of Minnesota researchers "will work to rapidly identify and characterize influenza viruses that have pandemic potential by monitoring domestic and international wild bird, poultry, and swine populations," said Marguerite Pappaioanou, professor of infectious disease and epidemiology at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, in a prepared statement.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)