Press Releases
Texas Members of Congress ask for action to fight deadly West Nile outbreak
U.S. Congressmen Joe Barton and Bill Flores, along with nineteen of their colleagues from both the House and Senate, sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, asking for more action to address the West Nile Virus.
Congressmen Joe Barton and Bill Flores, along with nineteen of their colleagues from both the House and Senate, sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Tom Frieden, asking for more action to address the West Nile Virus outbreak in Texas and across the country. The bipartisan group pointed out in the letter that Texas has been hardest hit by this outbreak, with nearly half of the country’s reported cases in the country reported in the Lone Star State: “The situation in Texas is actually much worse than these preliminary figures indicate. These cases only reflect “reported cases” to health departments and there are only 61 full service local health departments within Texas’ 254 counties, significantly contributing to under reporting. “ West Nile Virus has been in the United States for thirteen years, and the current measures to control the disease only focus on external prevention, such as mosquito abatement and educating the public. In the letter the lawmakers asked for help before the disease makes more people sick and claims more lives: “We believe the recent history of this disease creates a significant public health risk of national proportions and urge your immediate attention to this issue. Specifically we ask you to request the Public Health and Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) to make the development of a Food and Drug Administration approved vaccine and other medical countermeasures a public health priority.” Texas A&M University, located in College Station, TX, recently was awarded a contract by HHS and CDC for one of three national Centers for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) for vaccines. Reps. Barton and Flores believe that the Texas A&M CIADM is prepared to work with the federal government and industry to pursue promising West Nile virus vaccines and countermeasures once mobilized by BARDA. Texas is also the epicenter for vaccine development in tropical disease, arbovirus research and high-containment laboratory capacities. Texas researchers also have one of the few long-term study populations under observation to follow the progress of West Nile Virus in affected patients. To view a copy of the letter CLICK HERE. Signers of the letter:
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison |
