The challenge from swine flu
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THE SWINE FLU outbreak offers an unexpected political challenge for President Obama, and a readiness test for the nation's public health system. So far, Obama is doing what he can to send the right message to the public: Don't panic over the swine flu threat, but don't ignore it either.
Over the weekend, the administration wisely declared a public health emergency. The declaration "sounds more severe than it really is," said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. As she explained, it is essentially a logistical step that allows the federal government to harness the resources necessary to fight a global swine-flu pandemic, if it occurs.
The potentially dangerous flu strain is believed to have originated in Mexico, where some 149 people are believed to have died from it and more than 1,300 have been infected. As of yesterday evening, US health officials had confirmed 40 cases in five states - California, Kansas, New York, Ohio, and Texas. No one has died from it yet in the United States, and no cases have been identified in New England.
As part of the declaration of a public health emergency, federal officials have begun shipment of antiviral medications for treatment of individuals who are sick, along with other medical equipment and supplies that may be needed if the situation worsens. Massachusetts expects to get some of those drugs in the coming days, even though there are no confirmed cases of swine flu in the Bay State.
John Auerbach, the Massachusetts commissioner of public health, is confident that federal officials have all the supplies they need to dispense across the country. "The current stockpiles are sufficient," he said. "We believe there should be more than enough of the antivirals based on the information we currently have."
If it's important to have the right drugs on tap, it's even more important to have the right leaders in place. The Obama administration is heading into its first public health emergency minus some key appointees. Obama's secretary of Health and Human Services, and his choice to run the Food and Drug Administration, await confirmation. He has yet to pick a surgeon general or someone as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Earlier this year, Republicans, led by Senator Susan Collins of Maine, managed to strip money for pandemic preparedness out of the federal stimulus bill on the grounds that it was pork. This bad decision illustrates the consequences of another infectious disease: irrational partisanship. At this point, it is more prevalent than swine flu and more dangerous to the nation's health.
