
WASHINGTON, March 12 (UPI) -- U.S. health experts say the country is short on ventilators to combat any pandemic like bird flu and there are not enough trained people to operate them.
A 400-page plan issued in November by the Bush administration called for 742,500 ventilators, machines that pump oxygen into lungs filled with mucus and phlegm, The New York Times reports.
But there are only 105,000 in the country now, 100,000 of which are used annually to combat the regular flu.
Bird flu has killed millions of birds and more than 90 people, mostly in Asia, but is feared worldwide if the deadly H5N1 strain mutates.
Dr. Irwin Redlener of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University said the ventilator shortage is a symptom of overall bad pandemic planning.
Of the $7.1 billion President Bush asked Congress for to fight an outbreak, $3.8 billion was allocated.
Most of that is dedicated to vaccines and other treatments, which the country is short of as well.
Ventilators, which typically cost $30,000, aren't on the top of the purchase list for hospitals nationwide battling troubling budgets.
Some alternatives to the mechanical ventilators may be used, but most experts say they would serve a limited purpose.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Additional Business News Stories | |
ABUJA, Nigeria, May 23 (UPI) --
The Nigerian government has "aggressive" investment programs in place to provide a major boost to the oil and natural gas sector, a minister said.
|
FORT WAYNE, Ind., May 23 (UPI) --
Self-encrypting drives to protect data on mobile platforms such as laptops are to be developed for the U.S. Air Force by ITT Exelis.
|
The housing inventory rose slightly in April, which is unusual in the middle of the spring sales season. The uptick may be the result of rising seller confidence and it should ease concerns that the super tight inventory levels of the last six months...
|
What if Europe turned out to be the new Japan?
|
| Stories | Photos | People | Comments |
View Caption