March 20, 2006 - De La Torre to Examine State's Preparedness Plan for Avian Flu

De La Torre to Examine State's Preparedness Plan for Avian Flu

Sacramento, CA - Assemblymember Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, will hold a hearing to examine the Administration's budget proposals related to Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response. The hearing will take place at 4:00 pm today, March 20, 2006 at the State Capitol, Room 127.

"California's system of public health faces problems notwithstanding the current threat of avian flu," said Assemblymember De La Torre. "Our state labs and hospitals, in particular, are facing serious staffing and resource issues. We need to restore public health infrastructure to protect Californians from any and all contagious illnesses"

WHAT:	Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
WHO:	Hector De La Torre, Assemblymember, 50th District Gene Mullin, Assemblymember, 19th District Loni Hancock, Assemblymember, 14th District Sam Blakeslee, Assemblymember, 33rd District Roger Niello, Assemblymember, 5th District Department of Health Services Emergency Medical Services Authority
WHERE:	State Capitol, 127 Sacramento, CA 95814
WHEN:	Today, March 20, 2006 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Background:

On January 18, 2006, the Schwarzenegger Administration released its draft Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan. The plan has been drafted to outline a statewide public health response to the potential outbreak of a world-wide pandemic of influenza.

Assemblymember Hector De La Torre has convened two hearings of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services on the topic of California's preparation to deal with a potential statewide outbreak of the avian flu. At one hearing, the Bureau of State Audits testified that two key emergency plans to combat infectious disease, the Disaster Medical Response and Medical Mutual Aid plans, had not been updated in 10 and 20 years, respectively.

Expert witnesses also argued that California could do much more to prepare for a pandemic of influenza. Public health officials all over the world are monitoring the emergence of avian influenza type A (H5N1). Currently, H5N1 can only be transmitted to humans through contact with infected birds. However, many scientists believe that it is only a matter of time before it mutates into a strain that can spread between humans.

Once this transition occurs, the virus could appear quickly in California and lead to serious public health, economic and social implications. The H5N1 virus has killed 97 out of approximately 176 people in Asia and Turkey since 2003, a mortality rate of over 50 percent. The virus has spread in bird populations throughout Asia, Eastern Europe and parts of Africa.

###