New York Times: Coping With Infectious Disease
“The list of infectious diseases that could leap from remote areas of the world to strike countries thousands of miles away is growing. … It made good sense, then, when the Obama administration, after meeting with representatives of three United Nations agencies and 26 countries last week, announced an ambitious plan to improve the surveillance and treatment of infectious diseases over the next five years in up to 30 countries. … A relatively small investment can get this health security initiative off the ground. The Defense Department and CDC are spending a combined $40 million this year (mostly from the Pentagon budget) to help detect and contain infectious disease threats in 10 countries. The administration said that it will propose an increase of $45 million in the CDC budget for 2015 to help additional countries. Congress ought to approve that money…” (2/21).