If it doesn't come from inside the Beltway, it's just not worth paying attention to.
A Washington state biosurveillance firm raised the first warning
about a possible outbreak of swine flu in Mexico more than two weeks
before the World Health Organization offered its initial alert about a
public health emergency of international concern.
Both federal and international health officials had access to the warning from Veratect Corp. Later e-mails calling attention to the company's subsequent report that the disease was possibly spreading in Mexico were sent to 10 officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Robert Hart, the company's chief executive.
Hart said he wasn't sure why health officials didn't act sooner.
How did some company on the left-hand side of the country know about the risks so far in advance and the other Washington didn't have a clue?
Veratect, based in Kirkland, Wash., uses a technique known as "data
mining" to automatically search tens of thousands of Web sites daily
for early signs of looming medical problems or civil unrest anywhere in
the world. Anything of interest is turned over to a team of 35 analysts
to determine its significance and to post on the company's Web site.
The company markets access to its Web site to government agencies,
businesses and others and has tried unsuccessfully to sell its service
to the CDC, the World Health Organization and the Department of
Homeland Security.
Generally speaking, we don't have the opportunity to listen. We're too busy talking.
