US struggles to fill gaps in bird flu detection
02 Mar 2006 21:24:04 GMT, By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - Bird flu could be incubating in areas around the world where no one is looking for it and U.S. agencies are struggling to help plug the gaps, agency heads told Congress on Thursday.

But they said the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus was looking worse than ever and asked for sustained funding to build networks to watch for and respond to disease outbreaks.

"Our current situation now is not a good situation. We have these ongoing and widespread outbreaks," Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a hearing of a House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee.

"We know this virus can successfully infect animals other than humans. We know that this virus is evolving. Last year's strain looks different from this year's strain," she added.

"The high fatality rate warns us that we are dealing with a highly lethal virus that no one has natural immunity to."