Posted on 10/04/2005 12:02:27 PM PDT by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush asked Congress on Tuesday to consider giving him powers to use the military to enforce quarantines in case of an avian influenza epidemic.
He said the military, and perhaps the National Guard, might be needed to take such a role if the feared H5N1 bird flu virus changes enough to cause widespread human infection.
"If we had an outbreak somewhere in the United States, do we not then quarantine that part of the country? And how do you, then, enforce a quarantine?" Bush asked at a news conference.
"It's one thing to shut down airplanes. It's another thing to prevent people from coming in to get exposed to the avian flu. And who best to be able to effect a quarantine?" Bush added.
"One option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move. So that's why I put it on the table. I think it's an important debate for Congress to have."
Bird flu has killed more than 60 people in four Asian nations since late 2003 and has been found in birds in Russia and Europe.
Experts fear that the H5N1 bird flu virus, which appears to be highly fatal when it infects people, will develop the ability to pass easily from person to person and would cause a pandemic that would kill millions.
"And I think the president ought to have all ... assets on the table to be able to deal with something this significant," Bush said.
He noted that some governors may object to the federal government commandeering the National Guard, which is under state command in most circumstances.
POLICE DUTIES BANNED
"But Congress needs to take a look at circumstances that may need to vest the capacity of the president to move beyond that debate. And one such catastrophe or one such challenge could be an avian flu outbreak," Bush said.
The active duty military is currently forbidden from undertaking law enforcement duties by the federal Posse Comitatus Act.
That law, passed in 1878 after the U.S. Civil War, does not prohibit National Guard troops under state control from doing police work. But, unless the law is changed, it would keep them from doing so if they were activated by Washington under federal control.
While the law allows the president to order the military to take control and do police work in an extreme emergency, the White House has been traditionally reluctant to usurp state powers.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters he was not aware of any current planning by the military to help respond to a flu pandemic.
But he noted that after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf region, Bush had asked Congress to consider giving the military control over initial response in dealing with major natural or other domestic disasters.
"Obviously the (Defense) Department has a tremendous amount of capability in a lot of areas. And we are a large force," Whitman said, noting also that the military had deployed field hospitals to Louisiana after the hurricanes.
Health experts are working to develop vaccines that would protect against the H5N1 strain of flu, because current influenza vaccines will not.
And countries are also developing stockpiles of drugs that can reduce the risk of serious disease or even sometimes prevent infection -- but supplies and manufacturing capacity are both limited.
Bush said he was involved in planning for an influenza pandemic, which experts say will definitely come, although they cannot predict when, or whether it will be H5N1 or some other virus. (Additional reporting by Maggie Fox)
People are regularly getting it from birds. In VietNam, in a Jakarta zoo...
But you are correct. There is no vaccine (although the Chinese claimed to have one about a month ago) and there won't be until about 6 months after human-to-human transmission begins.
Please check my post #215. It is not spreading easily, but it is spreading person to person.
Perhaps I would suggest you reread the Constitution. There is nothing in there granting you the power that you apparently desire President Bush to have. If you do it for this, what's next? Who sets the level at which the military invades domestic territory?
The US military could be extremely helpful in a pandemic.
Field hospitals--people will still get sick, and if the local hospitals are full.
Guards and distributors for medications.
Guards and distributors of food.
Maintenance of infrastructure if/when regular workers are ill, ie electric power, water treatment plants.
Quarantine is useless. Won't work, imho.
It is always that way. When people start to die, they will get interested.
Hope your wrong Judith Anne...I don't really see anything else to do that would have much effect in slowing it down.
apparently the Chinese gave their birds symmetrel {amantadine} since 1997,,contributed to the resistance. I have a stockpile of tamiflu but now think I wasted my money.
I believe the military would be needed for quarantine mostly becasue local law enforcement will walk off the job when the corpses start to pile up.
In 1918 they ran out of coffins.
I mean people to people transmission. There has been a leap from birds to tigers I do believe but the people to people is not established, suggested but not established.
I have an even better idea. Go take yourself out of the equation with a Craftsman drill up your ass...since that is where your brain is.
How sad you are so very right. Only when people start dying will they finally sit up and take notice.
I saw that and was under the impression that it is not clearly established.
At any rate, I think people here are underestimating the gravity of this. All I know is that every doc I know has a supply of tamiflu for 100 days. The CDC is very worried about hoarding this and is afraid it will happen.
If anyone wants it, order from Canadadrugs if you still can. It is around 5 bucks a pill. For treatment you need 10 pills but for prophylaxis you need a lot more. Staying home is easier.
BTW the comparisons to AIDS are specious. You don't catch aids from someone sneezing on you at the supermarket.
"Bush wants right to use military if bird flu hits"
Gosh, did we hear the same press conference? Bush "suggested" that it be discussed with the Governors as a "possibility".
Yep, for infrastructure. Hospitals and meds will be useless in my opinion, and spread the illness.
I wondered when he would suggest it. I suggest a quick conversation.
P.S. In case you haven't noticed, this is sarcasm. i'm shaking my head at the bootlickers that plague this forum.
Anytime you have an incurable transmissable disease, quarantines should be used. AIDS is probably the first disease of this sort that quarantines were not used. This disease could easily be stopped. I understand that is not a threat on the scale of a pandemic, but a lot of unsuspecting sexual partners have paid a terrible price at the hands of infected people that do not care.
To: dc-zoo
There is a lot of interest in, and news on, avian flu. Looking like it may get here in the US this fall (maybe).
21 posted on 05/09/2005 3:41:51 PM CDT by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]
Here is where I follow the daily surveillance. That and my unnamed relative.
.http://www.promedmail.org/pls/promed/f?p=2400:1000
Thanks, I'm gonna go take a look at it. I have this thread bookmarked already.
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