Forestalling the Coming Pandemic: Infectious Disease Surveillance Overseas
Oversight

Agenda
Due to the evolving nature of infectious diseases, environmental changes, and the easiness of global travel, the nature of newly emerging disease is increasingly transnational and is disproportionately zoonotic (diseases that can be transmitted to humans). Thus, we need to detect not only emerging disease, but zoonotic disease outbreaks, which depend on establishing effective new partnerships between disciplines, institutions, and nations. There are a number of executive branch agencies with programs in place to help developing countries monitor the outbreak of infectious disease and to provide the U.S. with early warning of potential public health emergencies. These programs were most recently reviewed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). This hearing will examine the results of the GAO report, assess the effectiveness of the U.S.-funded programs to assist other countries in monitoring emerging infectious disease and how those programs help the U.S. provide early warning of imminent public health threats, and work being done by the animal health community to identify emerging zoonotic disease.
Witnesses
Panel 1
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Mr. David GootnickDownload Testimony (1406k)DirectorInternational Affairs and Trade, Government Accountability Office
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Dr. Ray ArthurDownload Testimony (70k)DirectorGlobal Disease Detection Operations Center, Centers for Disease Control
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Dr. Kimothy SmithDownload Testimony (40k)DirectorNational Biosurveillance Integration Center, Department of Homeland Security
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Colonel Ralph L. EricksonDownload Testimony (231k)DirectorGlobal Emerging Infections System, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Department of Defense
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Dr. Kent HillDownload Testimony (37k)Assistant Administrator for Global HealthAgency for International Development (USAID)
Panel 2
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Mr. Nathan FlesnessDownload Testimony (42k)Executive DirectorInternational Species Information System
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Dr. Daniel JaniesDownload Testimony (12k)Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, Ohio State University Medical Center
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Dr. James Wilson VDownload Testimony (36k)DirectorDivision of Integrated Biodefense, Imaging Science and Information System Center, Georgetown University