The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) says it is disappointed that President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget fails to strengthen key U.S. public health and research initiatives, and adds that the nation's ability to prevent, diagnose and treat an ever-increasing number of infectious diseases threats will be severely diminished under the President's budget. The IDSA calls upon Congress to reshape the President's proposal and craft a budget that instead bolsters funding for U.S. and global infectious diseases research and public health activities through the nation's leading federal health agencies.
"As the recent outbreak of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus has shown, federal agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are our nation's first line of defense against infectious diseases," said Richard Whitley, MD, FIDSA, IDSA's president. "Unfortunately, the President's proposal does little to move the nation forward in its battle to reduce the terrible toll of many preventable and treatable infectious diseases that claim too many lives around the world."
Especially hard-hit in this year's budget is CDC, which would have its budget cut by $135 million. Of particular concern to IDSA are:
-- The slashing of CDC's Infectious Diseases program budget, which would be cut by almost $100 million, a 5 percent decline
-- A cut of more than 50 percent to the already strapped budget for the vital Antimicrobial Resistance program, which would force CDC to cut in half its support for state and local surveillance, prevention and control efforts, and end all grants to states for the successful Get Smart in the Community program to combat improper antibiotic use
-- A 21 percent reduction in grants for the Section 317 immunization program compared to the current fiscal year, in light of the end of additional funding provided though the stimulus bill; these cuts will reduce access to immunizations, which save lives and millions of dollars in preventable medical spending
