Global Network for Avian Influenza Surveillance Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Influenza Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to offer to enter into a contract with one or more eligible organizations to establish a Global Network for Avian Influenza Surveillance (GNAIS). Requires the eligible organization to manage an international surveillance program under which federal GNAIS partners: (1) monitor and test for the presence or arrival of avian influenza and other significant avian pathogens; (2) use trained professionals to collect samples and other data; (3) use the GNAIS for conducting disease surveillance, field investigations, training and capacity-building activities, and research; and (4) transmit information related to global distribution and characteristics of avian influenza to the Secretary.
Requires the Secretary, acting through the eligible organization, to: (1) use surveillance reports and other sources to identify and investigate local disease outbreaks of avian influenza; (2) develop a long-term baseline of regional data to identify when and where outbreaks might occur and paths of dispersal; (3) provide technical assistance for disease prevention and control programs; (4) provide analytical disease findings to the Influenza Branch of CDC and other federal GNAIS partners; and ( 5) manage, map, and make available on an Internet database all results and information gathered under this Act.
Directs the Secretary to request accredited colleges of veterinary medicine and other GNAIS partners to train members of the GNAIS network to: (1) monitor important bird areas around the world; and (2) test for the presence or arrival of avian influenza and other significant avian pathogens of zoonotic concern.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1912 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1912
To establish a global network for avian influenza surveillance among
wild birds nationally and internationally to combat the growing threat
of bird flu, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 24, 2005
Mr. Lieberman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a global network for avian influenza surveillance among
wild birds nationally and internationally to combat the growing threat
of bird flu, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Global Network for Avian Influenza
Surveillance Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the ongoing panzootic of highly pathogenic avian
influenza strain H5N1 in Asia and Eurasia is a threat to global
human health and the global poultry industry;
(2) the HPAI virus is capable of causing massive avian die-
offs, and response can easily involve the culling of tens of
millions of domestic poultry or domestic waterfowl, resulting
in significant economic losses;
(3) the fatality rate due to infection in humans may be 30
to 50 percent or more;
(4) recent outbreaks in 2005 of H5N1 in waterfowl in
western China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Romania, and Turkey suggest
that the virus may have entered the Central Asian Flyway and
may consequently spread throughout central and southern Asia,
Europe, and Africa, as well as spanning the Arctic to reach
North America;
(5) it has long been known that wild birds are a reservoir
host for avian influenza viruses worldwide;
(6) the 1918 pandemic, the most lethal of the 3 pandemics
that killed over 40,000,000 people worldwide, was caused by an
influenza virus that initially jumped directly from birds to
humans and subsequently evolved an ability to transmit from
human-to-human;
(7) this precedent for an avian influenza virus to transmit
directly from birds to humans, then spread among humans,
significantly raises the concern about the current H5N1
influenza strain;
(8) increased surveillance, including on migratory birds,
is critical to controlling avian influenza;
(9) the capacity to proactively detect the threats could
result in significantly improved disease prediction and
prevention capabilities;
(10) international wildlife health surveillance does not
clearly fall under the jurisdiction of any Federal or
international agency;
(11) there is a continued inability to share real-time data
across the human, agricultural, wildlife, and veterinary
agencies on zoonotic threats;
(12) while surveillance at domestic poultry and domestic
waterfowl production facilities and farms is an immediate and
on-going monitoring need and is being supported through
relevant agencies, surveillance in wild bird populations that
may have been exposed to the virus has now become a critical
component to determine the spread of the virus, implement
control measures, and protect human, livestock, and wildlife
health;
(13) monitoring and surveillance of wild migratory and
resident water birds are critically important to identifying
all strains of influenza viruses in wild birds as a library of
possible genotypes, determining their role in spread of the
virus, and anticipating where outbreaks may occur to enhance
preparedness; and
(14) improving surveillance of wildlife health around the
world would close significant jurisdictional and scientific
gaps in current global influenza preparedness.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a Global Network for Avian
Influenza Surveillance--
(1) to more rapidly and efficiently detect, verify, and
report on the presence of infectious diseases, such as highly
pathogenic avian influenza, in migratory birds and resident
waterfowl around the world;
(2) to use information on viral strains found during
surveillance of wild birds to better delineate any mutations in
the virus that may be detectable within wild bird populations;
(3) to use information on when and where HPAI and other
pathogens of concern are identified in migratory birds--
(A) to better guide preparedness in the United
States and around the world; and
(B) to carry out a comprehensive migratory bird
disease surveillance initiative that will provide
regions, countries, and specific locations with early
warning information that will help target resources
toward enhancement of poultry biosecurity and
surveillance, heightened public health vigilance, and
related areas;
(4) to create an open access database within which
information on HPAI and other pathogens of interest identified
in migratory birds can be shared as close to real time as
possible;
(5) to protect the health and safety of United States
citizens and officials traveling or living abroad; and
(6) to protect the economic interests of the United States
and its partners from threats to health, agriculture, and
natural resources.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Eligible organization.--The term ``eligible
organization'' means a nongovernmental wildlife conservation
organization chartered in the United States with--
(A) extensive global wildlife health experience in
tracking disease in wild birds, including free-ranging,
captive, and wild bird species;
(B) proven ability in identifying avian influenza
in wild birds; and
(C) accredited zoological facilities in the United
States.
(2) GNAIS.--The term ``GNAIS'' means the Global Network for
Avian Influenza Surveillance established under section 5(a).
(3) GNAIS partners.--The term ``GNAIS partners'' means the
partners of the GNAIS described in section 5(c).
(4) HPAI.--The term ``HPAI'' means highly pathogenic avian
influenza.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, acting--
(A) through the Influenza Branch of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention; and
(B) in partnership with an eligible organization.
SEC. 5. GLOBAL NETWORK FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall offer to enter into a
contract with 1 or more eligible organizations to establish a Global
Network for Avian Influenza Surveillance.
(b) Partners.--In administering the GNAIS, the Secretary and the
eligible organization shall collaborate with appropriate--
(1) Federal and State agency partners, including--
(A) the Department of Agriculture, acting through--
(i) the Agricultural Research Service; and
(ii) the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service;
(B) the Department of the Interior, acting
through--
(i) the United States Geological Survey;
and
(ii) the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service; and
(C) various State wildlife agencies in the United
States;
(2) multilateral agency partners, including--
(A) the Food and Agriculture Organization;
(B) the World Health Organization;
(C) the Office International des Epizooties, the
world animal health organization; and
(D) the World Conservation Union;
(3) conservation organizations with expertise in
international and domestic bird monitoring and surveillance;
(4) accredited colleges of veterinary medicine; and
(5) other national and international partners, as
necessary.
(c) International Surveillance.--The eligible organization, in
coordination with the Influenza Branch of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, shall manage an international surveillance
program under which Federal GNAIS partners shall, and non-Federal GNAIS
partners are encouraged to--
(1) monitor and test for the presence or arrival of avian
influenza and other significant avian pathogens at important
bird areas around the world and in marketplaces with intense
trade in wild birds;
(2) use trained professionals to collect samples and other
data and send samples to appropriate diagnostic centers;
(3) use the GNAIS, in partnership with relevant agencies
and organizations, for conducting--
(A) disease surveillance activities on migratory
birds worldwide;
(B) domestic and international field investigations
on migratory birds;
(C) training and capacity-building activities
related to the relationships between human health,
domestic animal health, and wildlife health; and
(D) research on methods and approaches for
detection and enhanced surveillance of HPAI and other
pathogens in migratory birds; and
(4) send samples for avian influenza testing to certified
laboratories that--
(A) meet internationally established methods
standards;
(B) are located at--
(i) the Influenza Branch of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention;
(ii) the Office International des
Epizooties, the world animal health
organization;
(iii) the Food and Agriculture
Organization;
(iv) National Veterinary Services
Laboratories of the Department of Agriculture;
or
(v) the Agricultural Research Service; and
(C) report the findings back to the eligible
organization and GNAIS partners.
(d) Network.--
(1) Partners.--Federal GNAIS partners shall, and non-
Federal GNAIS partners are encouraged to, transmit information
related to global distribution and characteristics of avian
influenza to the Secretary acting through the eligible
organization.
(2) Administration.--The Secretary, acting through the
eligible organization, shall--
(A) use surveillance reports and other formal and
informal sources of information to identify and
investigate local disease outbreaks of avian influenza,
in coordination with GNAIS partners;
(B) develop a long-term baseline of regional data
related to HPAI and pathogens in migratory birds for
analysis between and across sites to create a system to
identify when and where outbreaks might occur and paths
of dispersal;
(C) provide technical assistance for disease
prevention and control programs based on scientific
understanding of the relationships between wildlife
health, domestic animal health, and human health;
(D) provide analytical disease findings regularly
to the Influenza Branch of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and other Federal GNAIS partners
to prevent or combat human diseases;
(E) conduct other activities as are necessary to
support the GNAIS network and GNAIS partners; and
(F) coordinate GNAIS surveillance results at the
headquarters of the eligible organization.
(e) Database.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the eligible
organization, shall manage, map, and make available on a
database on the Internet all results and information gathered
under this Act.
(2) Requirements.--The database shall--
(A) provide geographic data on wild bird
populations and the movements of the populations and
laboratory test results; and
(B) be available for viewing by any Federal agency,
foreign country, multilateral institution,
organization, or individual.
(f) Training.--The Secretary shall request accredited colleges of
veterinary medicine and other GNAIS partners to train members of the
GNAIS network to--
(1) monitor important bird areas around the world; and
(2) test for the presence or arrival of avian influenza and
other significant avian pathogens of zoonotic concern.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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