Friday, May 20, 2016

The USA has to be prepared through Homeland Security as well as HHS to fight the NEXT virus and complete the eradication of Ebola and Zika.

The way the US House robs Peter to give to Paul reminds me of the person that doesn't finish their medication only to have medication resistant microorganisms.  Why not repurpose funding for the F-35 to fund a program to fight Zika to eradiate the virus.

May 13, 2016
By Phillip Wegmann

Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, said: 'This study supports previous research suggesting that the virus can persist in bodily fluids for a long time after recovery.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (click here) has unspent money left over from the fight in 2013 against the Ebola epidemic overseas. But HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell has not deployed that money to combat the coming Zika virus because of what she considers prior commitments.
House Republicans want to repurpose old Ebola money for the new Zika fight. But HHS spokesman Bill Hall told The Daily Signal that, even though the agency technically has $1.46 billion in unobligated funds, the unspent money “has been committed” already.
According to the Government Accountability Office, an administrative commitment is “a reservation of allotted funds, or of other funds, in anticipation of their obligation.” A commitment also may “manifest an intent to expend assets.”
Translated from bureaucratic parlance, that means a government agency has the cash on hand for a specific purpose but hasn’t spent it yet....

The funding for Ebola is already providing returns on the investment. There is still no vaccine. A vaccine is the only guaranteed end of the virus.

May 17, 2016
By Lizzie Parry

Some of the final cases of the deadly Ebola virus (click here) could have been transmitted through breast milk, new research suggests.
The largest analysis to date of the tail-end of the epidemic, which swept through West Africa from late 2013 to 2015, found some of the last cases were passed on via unconventional routes, such as semen and breast milk.
An international team of researchers sequenced Ebola virus genomes in a temporary tent laboratory in Sierra Leone.
Researchers led by the University of Cambridge and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute generated 554 complete Ebola genome sequences from samples of blood, cheek swabs, semen and breast milk....

We have a job to do to guarantee the American people real safety from the Ebola virus.

May 3, 2016
By the German Center of Infection Research

"The results (click here) for tolerability, safety, and the immune response to the vaccine candidate are very promising," explains Prof Marylyn Addo. The antibodies which developed against the virus were still detectable after six months. Addo is convinced, "With this, a single vaccine could provide lasting protection against Ebola." The infectious disease specialist, who works for the German Center for Infection Research at the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf (UKE) in Hamburg, led the trial in Hamburg. A total of 158 healthy adult volunteers were tested in Hamburg, as well as at the partner sites in Geneva (Switzerland), Lambaréné; (Gabon) and Kilifi (Kenya)....

The spending on Ebola needs to go forward to end the existence of this virus on Earth. I can't imagine the American people conducting research halfway on this virus or the new challenge presented by Zika. The funding has to be there not just for these two virus, but, for the readiness for the future.

These viruses presented a real danger to the lives of Americans within a short period of time. They are very virulent virus and it is reasonable to think there is yet a third strain of another virus on the horizon. The funding to end deadly virus has to be available in anticipation of the next outbreak.

The US House and Senate needs to fund emergency programs both to complete the eradication of these viruses and in anticipation of what is yet to make itself known. The idea monies to prevent and fight disease can be purposed is very dangerous and speaks to the very poor readiness the USA has for Homeland Security.