Obama seeks $1.5 bln for swine flu as cases jump

tag: swine flu april 28

On Tuesday President Barack Obama asked Congress for an additional $1.5 billion to fight swine flu as the confirmed caseload jumped to 65 people across six states in what doctors fear may become a pandemic.

Lawmakers convened an emergency hearing on Capitol Hill to assess the government's preparedness for a more severe outbreak.

"With a new infectious agent you don't sit back and wait and hope for the best. You take bold steps, and then you pull back if you need to," Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news briefing.

The CDC total included 10 cases in California, 2 in Kansas, 45 in New York, one in Ohio and 6 in Texas. An additional case was reported by Indiana state authorities.

While the new flu strain has killed up to 149 people in Mexico, cases seen in the United States and elsewhere have been mild. CDC officials said only five U.S. cases have required hospitalization, but they have said they expect more serious cases -- and possibly deaths -- as surveillance expands.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency over the outbreak, enabling deployment of funds and personnel to fight the disease. Federal officials declared a national public health emergency on Sunday.

Worldwide, 79 cases have been confirmed in laboratories recognized by the World Health Organization.

MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY

Obama, in a letter to Congress, said the additional $1.5 billion would give the government "maximum flexibility" as it fights the disease, supplementing antiviral stockpiles, adding medical equipment and starting preparations for a vaccine.

As public health headlines gripped the country, senators prepared to approve the last of Obama's Cabinet nominees -- Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services secretary.

While Republican critics had delayed confirming Sebelius because of her stance on abortion, Senate Democrats said they believed they had the 60 votes necessary to push her through.

On Capitol Hill, health officials told an emergency hearing the funding would be crucial if the flu virus spreads.

"In the face of these cutbacks and layoffs and vacancies, we don't even have the workforce we had two years ago," said Dr. Paul Jarris, executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

In California, Texas and New York City, authorities have ordered schools shut where students have tested positive for the swine flu virus.

In New York, most confirmed cases of infection were at a Queens private school where the virus has sickened at least 28 students. Officials had said earlier as many as 100 students might have been ill, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Tuesday officials have stopped testing more people because the symptoms are mild, with only two people going to the hospital.

"This is following the pattern of normal, seasonal influenza," Bloomberg told reporters at City Hall. "So far, nothing about the spread of swine flu has surprised us."

There were few signs of panic across the country -- although sales of flu medication and items like face masks -- were up in some places close to where cases have been confirmed.

"Everyone's a little leery of anyone coughing. Even though the news makes it seem really, really bad, it doesn't seem like it's actually that much of a concern," said Aaron Armelin, 33, a telecommunications technician in Los Angeles.

U.S. stocks rose as traders shook off some of the more immediate flu fears that hit the market on Monday.

Although advice that no pigs have been affected by the virus, Ecuador worrying pork producers for the joined a long list of countries putting bans on imports of some U.S. pigs and pork products.