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FLU • CODTinUCD FROID I The long-awaited strategy also stresses expanded attempts to detect and contain the next super-flu before it reaches the United States, with particular attention to parts of Asia that are influenza incubators — a global focus that flu specialists have insistedfthe government adopt. “Early detection is our first line of defense,” Bush said in a speech at the National Institutes of Health. He called on other countries to admit when super-flu strains occur within their borders. “No nation can afford to ignore this threat,” he said. At the same time, Bush sought to reassure a public jittery over the spread of bird flu,.called H5N1, which has killed at least 62 people in Asia since 2003 and caused the death or destruction of tens of millions of birds. There is no evidence that a human pandemic, of H5N1 or any other super strain, is about to start, Bush said repeatedly. btui, tnere nave been three hu pandemics in the last century and the world is overdue for another. Concern is growing that the bird flu could provide the spark if it one day mutates so that it can spread easily from person to person. “Our country has been -given fair warning df this danger to our homeland, and time to prepare,” Bush said. Topping Bush’s strategy: $1.2 billion to stockpile enough vaccine against the current H5N1 flu strain to protect 20 million Americans, the estimated number of health workers and other first-responders involved in a pandemic. $1 billion for the drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, which can treat and, in some cases, prevent flu infection. Enough to treat 44 million people and prevent infection in 6 million others is headed for the federal stockpile. States were told to buy 31 million treatment courses, but Bush is funding only a quarter of the states’ anticipated bill. $2.8 billion to speed production of pandemic vaccines — including better matched strains — by learning to manufacture them in easier-to-handle. cell cultures, instead of today’s slow method that relies on millions of chicken eggs. $251 million for international preparations, including improving early warning systems to spot human infections with novel flu strains. $100 million for state preparations, including determining how to deliver stockpiled medicines directly to patients. $56 million to test poultry and wild birds for H5N1 or other novel flu strains entering the U.S. bird population. A call for Congress to provide liability protection for makers of a pandemic vaccine, which unlike shots against the regular winter flu would be experimental, largely untested. Bush’s aiiriouncement came after his administration was battered by criticism over its lethargic response to Hurricane Katrina. Public health specialists, briefed on the strategy but awaiting details, called it a good start. “Clearly this is the No. 1 public health issue on the radar screen,” said Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota, who advises the government on infectious disease threats. But it’s not strong enough, said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who helped lead Senate passage of $8 billion in emergency funding for pandemic preparations last month. “Stockpiles alone aren’t enough without the capacity to make use of them,” he said, calling for steps to help states, cities and hospitals prepare for a flood of panicked patients. “There is a gaping hole” in the plan, added Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who said the nation should stockpile enough Tamiflu for half the population, not the quarter that would be covered if the states added their share under Bush’s plan. The states’ contribution will be difficult, said Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, chairman of the National Governors Association. “They expect us to pay 75 cents on a dollar for flu medicine — that’s going to be a tough pill to swallow,” he said through a spokeswoman. The states’ collective tab would reach $510 million, said Kim Elliott, deputy director of the nonpartisan Trust for America’s Health. She worried that some wouldn’t buy any, and that others wouldn’t share their Tamiflu stash if a pandemic struck in a part of the country that ran out. “It depends on where you live and the state of your state’s budget as to whether or not you might receive a treatment drug,” she said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gtvm.sc. edu Universities consider podcasts alongside traditional lectures Sean Pouters THE (U. MISSOURI) MANEATER COLUMBIA, Mo. — Educators across the country are considering a new form of Internet-based audio sharing called “podcasting” to enhance lectures. Podcasting allows teachers to audio-record lectures and put them online for students to download and listen to on computers or portable media devices such as iPods. “Technology is becoming an integral part of everyone’s life,” said Monica Beglau, director of Enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Network Teaching Strategies, a state-run technology program for K-12 students. “There are so many different features that technology offers, and it’s all so motivational and so interactive. MU students and faculty helped test out podcasting at the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative conferences in New Orleans in January and Houston in March, according to the Information and Access Technology Services’ Web site. Likewise, the MU School of Journalism has looked at using podcasting for the school’s reporting classes. A major misconception regarding podcasting is that in order to successfully receive these audio files, users need an iPod, said Robert Walch, president and owner of PodCast 411, a Kansas-based podcasting company. “You don’t need an iPod to listen to a podcast, and you definitely don’t need it to create a podcast,” Walch said. “You just need the software.” Options include using an MP3 player to record audio files and Windows Media Player for listening to podcasts on computers. Walch said many universities are considering ways to incorporate podcasts into the classroom. Even though various colleges and universities across the country have considered podcasting, Walch said this concept is not overwhelmingly popular among college students due to a lack of marketing toward that age group. “I’ve seen many more teenagers podcasting or listening to podcasts,” Walch said. “It’s almost as if podcasting is skipping over the entire college generation. It’s very popular for people who are 25 to 40, and it’s really popular for people 12 to 18.” Critics of podcasting in the classroom fear some students will abuse this technological opportunity. “Kids might feel that they can just slack off even more, meaning they can just record their notes,” freshman Mike Brannen said. “There’s just less effort put into the classes because they know that they don’t have to go in and take notes.” Sophomore Kourtney Mitchell said he would support the use of podcasting in the classroom and said it would be a useful tool for students, especially incoming freshmen who still are adapting to the university lifestyle. “I think it’s really good because the students can not only reinforce writing the notes, Dut tney can also picK up other little things that they may have missed when the teacher was talking,” Mitchell said. Walch said podcasting would not negatively affect students who are serious about learning. “A certain percentage of students are not going to pay attention anyway, and the ones that really want to learn are going to learn,” Walch said. Beglau said podcasting gives students an opportunity to use their audio sharing for studying. “I think it’ll help people be more collaborative and solve problems in groups,” she said. “Those are the things that employers are really looking for beyond your knowledge and understanding of content.” Paul Sakuma / The Associated Press Podcasting would allow college professors to audio record lectures and post them online. 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