By Jay Fitzgerald
Boston Herald General Economics Reporter
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 - Updated: 04:29 PM EST
Despite spending billions of dollars, society is far from prepared to deal with a mass outbreak of a killer influenza strain, delegates were told yesterday at the 2007 BIO International Convention in Boston.
“You’re on your own,” concluded David Ozonoff, a doctor at Boston University’s School of Public Health, referring to worst-case scenarios of an outbreak.
“We don’t have a clue what the (degree of virulence) might be,” said Ozonoff of the strain of influenza that could hit the world.
Yesterday’s session on a future flu pandemic - at which Ozonoff and other experts spoke - was one of scores of seminars and conferences held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, where thousands of biotech executives have gathered for the giant BIO 2007 event that runs through tomorrow.
Biotech and pharmaceutical companies are working hard to ramp up operations in the event of a pandemic, thanks to billions of dollars set aside by the federal government for research and preparedness, experts said. The recent avian flu scare in some countries has put nations around the globe on alert for a pandemic.
Experts agreed it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” a flu pandemic, perhaps as severe as the strain that killed millions in 1918, breaks out.
Bruce Gellin, director of the national vaccine program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said “substantial progress” has been made in developing potential vaccines, antiviral therapies and diagnostic kits.
But the nation’s vaccine production capacity is still far short of what is ideally needed if a pandemic occurs, said Gellin.
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to stop a pandemic in its track,” said Gellin. “Our goal is to slow it down and lessen its impact.”
Experts agreeing on anything is like bandits promising to split the loot evenly in case they get split up after the heist.