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Federal Document Clearing House
Congressional Testimony
September 13, 2000, Wednesday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 2440 words
COMMITTEE:
HOUSE COMMERCE
SUBCOMMITTEE: HEALTH
AND ENVIRONMENT
HEADLINE: TESTIMONY HEALTH CARE
LEGISLATION
TESTIMONY-BY: DYANN WIRTH , PH.D PROFESSOR
AFFILIATION: HARVARD UNIVERSITY
BODY:
Testimony of Dyann Wirth, Ph.D. Professor
Harvard University School of Public Health For the Joint Steering Committee for
Public Policy to the Health and Environment Subcommittee of the House Commerce
Committee Securing the Health of the American People: H.R. 2399, the National
Commission for the New National Goal: The Advancement of Global Health Act
September 13, 2000 Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to testify today. My name is Dyann Wirth. I am a Professor at
the Harvard University School of Public Health Department of Immunology and
Infectious Disease. I am here today on behalf of the Joint Steering Committee
for Public Policy, which has worked closely with Representative Gekas in his
outstanding efforts in support of biomedical research. The Joint Steering
Committee for Public Policy (JSQ is a coalition of four life-science societies
representing more than 25,000 researchers in the fields of genetics, cell
biology, biophysics, biochemistry and molecular biology. The JSC was formed in
late 1980s to bring scientists together to advocate for federal funding for
basic biomedical research. Eric Lander of MIT chairs JSC, and among its 20 board
members are Nobelists J. Michael Bishop, Paul Berg and Harold Varmus. Founders
of the JSC realized that there was a great need for the United States to invest
in biomedical research and called for the doubling of the NIH budget. Since that
time, Mr. Chairman, the Congress' visionary support of the NIH has lead us to
the dawn of a new age in science. I have no doubt that the doming decade will be
remembered for major discoveries enabled by the mapping of the human genorne
which will lead to the prevention and cure of diseases. The JSC also worked with
Congressman Gekas to introduce the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus to
the halls of Congress. Today, the Biomedical Research Caucus has been called by
Chairman John Porter and former Speaker New Gingrich among others, "the most
influential Caucus in Congress." I am here today to express the support of the
Joint Steering Committee for Congressman Gekas' bill the National Commission for
the New National Goal: The Advancement of Global Health Act, H.R. 2399. this
bill, if enacted into law would create a Presidential/Congressional commission
to investigate how we as a Nation can most effectively seize the myriad
scientific opportunities presented by modem advances in genornics to eradicate
many of the diseases that are plaguing millions of the world's people. We
support this bill because we believe that in this third Millenium. it is within
the grasp of human capability to accelerate the role of basic biomedical
research and the translation of that research to the benefit of the world's
least fortunate people. Now is the time: scientific potential is there; it
requires only political will to make it reality. My particular experience is
malaria, but as devastating as malaria is, it is just one of several infectious
diseases that are not only killing millions but costing billions. According to
the World Health Organization, infectious diseases account for more than 13
million deaths a year. That means that over the duration of this hearing 1,500
people will die from an infectious disease - over half of them children under
five. According to the WHO the seven infectious diseases that caused the highest
number of deaths in 1998 are AIDS, TB, malaria, hepatitis B and
hepatitis C, diarrheal diseases, and measles. Of these, TB and hepatitis are
renewed threats because they are becoming increasingly resistant drug resistant.
But, malaria alone is estimated to cause up to 500 million clinical cases and
2.7 million deaths each year, representing 4 percent to 5 percent of all
fatalities globally. Tragically, every 30 seconds a child somewhere in the world
dies of malaria. As you know, most of these deaths occur in developing countries
where extreme poverty and lack of access to basic health care, adequate sanitary
and essential drugs can seal the fate of children before they're bom. However,
the enormous volume of travel and trade today have made, infectious diseases
blind to national borders. A January, 2000, unclassified report from the CIA's
National Intelligence Council, entitled "The Global Infectious Disease Threat
and Its Implications for the United States," suggests that in modem warfare
infectious diseases are likely to account for more military hospital admissions
than battlefield injuries. The report assesses claims, and I concur, that "new
and reemerging infectious diseases will pose a rising global health threat and
will complicate US and global security over the next 20 years. These diseases
will endanger US citizens at home and abroad, threaten US armed forces deployed
overseas, and exacerbate social and political instability in key countries and
regions in which the United States has significant interests." Research into the
prevention, treatment and control of tropical and infectious disease are now
more important than ever to the US and the world. I will address malaria as an
example because I know more about malaria than about other global health
threats. Among adults living in areas of high transmission, malaria is best
thought of as a chronic, debilitating illness that robs its victims of years of
productivity. A single mosquito bite can transmit one of the four parasites that
cause malaria, setting in motion bouts of fever, chills, and nausea that can
recur for weeks. According to a 1993 World Bank Report, malaria represents a
global public health burden second only to tuberculosis among infectious
diseases of the 2-3 million children who die of malaria each year, most of them
live in Africa, continent already overwhelmed by poverty and internal conflict.
Those who survive can suffer chronic anemia and/or immune suppression that leave
victims vulnerable to other fetal diseases. Despite massive efforts to eradicate
in the 1950s, today than at any other time in history. More than 500 million
people are infected with malaria worldwide; one-fourth of the world's population
is at risk for infection. Better implementation of currently available control
measures, including the use of insecticide, and better and more rational use of
existing drugs, should be the goal in the short term; in the long-term, new
research interventions are desperately needed. Cutting-edge technology has led
to the development of new paradigms - the genome of the most important malaria
parasites is being sequenced, DNA vaccines are being developed and tests of
methods to prevent transmission by the mosquito are being explored. We must
seize the opportunity presented by these scientific adversities to accelerate
the defeat of malaria worldwide. But equally important as progress in research
is public support and awareness of this major health threat. In order to conquer
malaria, we need a global strategy that includes American leadership and
resources to invest into continued research into prevention and treatment. I
must also point out the great need for action with regard to
HIV/AIDS in Africa. Africa remains the epicenter of the
pandemic, bearing the largest disease burden, with 70 percent of people living
with AIDS worldwide, 83 percent of global AIDS
deaths, and 95 percent of the world's AIDS orphans.
AIDS is reversing decades of progress from important public
health efforts, lowering life expectancy, and significantly affecting daily life
for millions of Africans. This situation cries out for leadership. The JSC
supports efforts to encourage research and development on vaccines to combat
malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS and other infectious diseases and
to ensure that existing vaccines are accessible to populations in developing
countries most impacted by these diseases. These efforts will require
partnerships among federal agencies, industry, non-profit foundations and other
NGOs, the World Bank, and international organizations to combat the scourge of
infectious diseases. This Commission could vastly accelerate the pace of these
efforts. Specific mechanisms might include, enhanced R&D tax
credits and new tax credits for sales of
vaccines, contributions to international organizations such as
the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) for
the purchase and distribution of vaccines in developing countries, and measures
that will improve the public health infrastructure in developing countries in
order to expand immunizations, prevent and treat infectious diseases, and build
effective delivery systems for basic health services. As we begin the 21st
century, we are blessed with unimaginable opportunities to build on breakthrough
research to control and prevent global infectious disease. This is not just
altruism to reduce the suffering of the world's most needy: this is also a
question of national security and health for the United States and its citizens.
Renewed investment in the treatment and prevention of global infectious disease
is a win-win for the country: by helping others across the world we are also
launching the best defense to protect the health of our Nation's people. We hope
you will seriously consider passage of H.R. 2399. Thank you for the opportunity
to present the views of the Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy. I would
be happy to answer your questions.
LOAD-DATE: September
15, 2000, Friday 
