The US is to launch a push to increase international co-operation on tackling infectious diseases, warning that cross-border health risks “have never been greater”.
President Barack Obama’s administration is planning to commit more than $100m in its 2015 federal budget to beefing up global “biosecurity”. Much of the money will be used to help high-risk countries build systems to “prevent, detect and effectively respond” to pandemic threats.
Thomas Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said factors such as globalisation, the emergence of antibiotic-resistance and the threat of bioterrorism were creating a “perfect storm” of vulnerability.