HHS Joins with the Institut Pasteur to Strengthen Preparations for a Potential Influenza Pandemic

February 6, 2006 - "The looming threat of a global influenza pandemic demands global, regional and national attention, and preparation and response to a pandemic is a shared responsibility," said Alex M. Azar II, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in Paris. Deputy Secretary Azar I and Madame Alice Dautry, President of the Institut Pasteur, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a partnership with the goal of improving global capacity, beginning in Southeast Asia, to detect influenza viruses that could have the potential to trigger a human pandemic.

The MOU establishes a working group to oversee collaborative projects, including building capacity for surveillance, epidemiological investigation, testing, diagnosis, and control of infectious disease in countries affected by and at-risk for the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza strain; exchange of technical expertise to foster rapid response to disease threats; and disseminating effective and accurate public information on infectious disease, to be developed in local languages in developing countries. The Institut Pasteur is a non-profit, private foundation located in Paris, France, created through an international fund to allow Louis Pasteur to expand vaccination against rabies, to develop the study of infectious diseases, and to spread his knowledge. It plays an important global health role, and has 18 National Reference Laboratories and 10 World Health Organization Collaborating Centers within the Institut Pasteur. Across the globe, the Institut Pasteur helps monitor epidemics and control outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a federal government agency that includes components such as the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. HHS Secretary Michael O. Leavitt has the lead U.S. government responsibility for preparing for the health consequences of a pandemic influenza.

For more information:

• Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States of America and Institut Pasteur / Protocole d'accord entre l'Institut Pasteur et le Département de la Santé et des Services Humanitaires des Etats-Unis d'Amérique (PDF - 213KB)

Last revised: October 10, 2007