I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4476 
To establish a global network for avian influenza surveillance among wild 
birds nationally and internationally to combat the growing threat of 
bird flu, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 8, 2005 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. CASE) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committees on Resources and Agriculture, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a global network for avian influenza surveillance 
among wild birds nationally and internationally to com-
bat the growing threat of bird flu, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Network for 
Avian Influenza Surveillance Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) the ongoing panzootic of highly pathogenic 
avian influenza strain H5N1 in Asia and Eurasia is 
a threat to global human health and the global poul-
try industry; 
(2) the HPAI virus is capable of causing mas-
sive avian die-offs, and response can easily involve 
the culling of tens of millions of domestic poultry or 
domestic waterfowl, resulting in significant economic 
losses; 
(3) the fatality rate due to infection in humans 
may be 30 to 50 percent or more; 
(4) recent outbreaks in 2005 of H5N1 in water-
fowl in western China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Roma-
nia, and Turkey suggest that the virus may have en-
tered the Central Asian Flyway and may con-
sequently spread throughout central and southern 
Asia, Europe, and Africa, as well as spanning the 
Arctic to reach North America; 
(5) it has long been known that wild birds are 
a reservoir host for avian influenza viruses world-
wide; 
(6) the 1918 pandemic, the most lethal of the 
3 pandemics that killed over 40,000,000 people 
worldwide, was caused by an influenza virus that ini-
tially jumped directly from birds to humans and sub-
sequently evolved an ability to transmit from 
human-to-human; 
(7) this precedent for an avian influenza virus 
to transmit directly from birds to humans, then 
spread among humans, significantly raises the con-
cern about the current H5N1 influenza strain; 
(8) increased surveillance, including on migra-
tory birds, is critical to controlling avian influenza; 
(9) the capacity to proactively detect the 
threats could result in significantly improved disease 
prediction and prevention capabilities; 
(10) international wildlife health surveillance 
does not clearly fall under the jurisdiction of any 
Federal or international agency; 
(11) there is a continued inability to share real- 
time data across the human, agricultural, wildlife, 
and veterinary agencies on zoonotic threats; 
(12) while surveillance at domestic poultry and 
domestic waterfowl production facilities and farms is 
an immediate and on-going monitoring need and is 
being supported through relevant agencies, surveil-
lance in wild bird populations that may have been 
exposed to the virus has now become a critical com-
ponent to determine the spread of the virus, imple-
ment control measures, and protect human, live-
stock, and wildlife health; 
(13) monitoring and surveillance of wild migra-
tory and resident water birds are critically important 
to identifying all strains of influenza viruses in wild 
birds as a library of possible genotypes, determining 
their role in spread of the virus, and anticipating 
where outbreaks may occur to enhance preparedness; 
and 
(14) improving surveillance of wildlife health 
around the world would close significant jurisdic-
tional and scientific gaps in current global influenza 
preparedness. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to establish a Global Net-
work for Avian Influenza Surveillance— 
(1) to more rapidly and efficiently detect, 
verify, and report on the presence of infectious dis-
eases, such as highly pathogenic avian influenza, in 
migratory birds and resident waterfowl around the 
world; 
(2) to use information on viral strains found 
during surveillance of wild birds to better delineate 
any mutations in the virus that may be detectable 
within wild bird populations;
(3) to use information on when and where 
HPAI and other pathogens of concern are identified 
in migratory birds— 
(A) to better guide preparedness in the 
United States and around the world; and 
(B) to carry out a comprehensive migra-
tory bird disease surveillance initiative that will 
provide regions, countries, and specific locations 
with early warning information that will help 
target resources toward enhancement of poultry 
biosecurity and surveillance, heightened public 
health vigilance, and related areas; 
(4) to create an open access database within 
which information on HPAI and other pathogens of 
interest identified in migratory birds can be shared 
as close to real time as possible; 
(5) to protect the health and safety of United 
States citizens and officials traveling or living 
abroad; and 
(6) to protect the economic interests of the 
United States and its partners from threats to 
health, agriculture, and natural resources. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act:
(1) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘eligi-
ble organization’’ means a nongovernmental wildlife 
conservation organization chartered in the United 
States with— 
(A) extensive global wildlife health experi-
ence in tracking disease in wild birds, including 
free-ranging, captive, and wild bird species; 
(B) proven ability in identifying avian in-
fluenza in wild birds; and 
(C) accredited zoological facilities in the 
United States. 
(2) GNAIS.—The term ‘‘GNAIS’’ means the 
Global Network for Avian Influenza Surveillance es-
tablished under section 5(a). 
(3) GNAIS PARTNERS.—The term ‘‘GNAIS 
partners’’ means the partners of the GNAIS de-
scribed in section 5(c). 
(4) HPAI.—The term ‘‘HPAI’’ means highly 
pathogenic avian influenza. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, act-
ing— 
(A) through the Influenza Branch of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 
and
(B) in partnership with an eligible organi-
zation. 
SEC. 5. GLOBAL NETWORK FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA SUR-
VEILLANCE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall offer 
to enter into a contract with 1 or more eligible organiza-
tions to establish a Global Network for Avian Influenza 
Surveillance. 
(b) PARTNERS.—In administering the GNAIS, the 
Secretary and the eligible organization shall collaborate 
with appropriate— 
(1) Federal and State agency partners, includ-
ing— 
(A) the Department of Agriculture, acting 
through— 
(i) the Agricultural Research Service; 
and 
(ii) the Animal and Plant Health In-
spection Service; 
(B) the Department of the Interior, acting 
through— 
(i) the United States Geological Sur-
vey; and
(ii) the United States Fish and Wild-
life Service; and 
(C) various State wildlife agencies in the 
United States; 
(2) multilateral agency partners, including— 
(A) the Food and Agriculture Organiza-
tion; 
(B) the World Health Organization; 
(C) the Office International des Epizooties, 
the world animal health organization; and 
(D) the World Conservation Union; 
(3) conservation organizations with expertise in 
international and domestic bird monitoring and sur-
veillance; 
(4) accredited colleges of veterinary medicine; 
and 
(5) other national and international partners, 
as necessary. 
(c) INTERNATIONAL SURVEILLANCE.—The eligible 
organization, in coordination with the Influenza Branch 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 
manage an international surveillance program under 
which Federal GNAIS partners shall, and non-Federal 
GNAIS partners are encouraged to—
(1) monitor and test for the presence or arrival 
of avian influenza and other significant avian patho-
gens at important bird areas around the world and 
in marketplaces with intense trade in wild birds; 
(2) use trained professionals to collect samples 
and other data and send samples to appropriate di-
agnostic centers; 
(3) use the GNAIS, in partnership with rel-
evant agencies and organizations, for conducting— 
(A) disease surveillance activities on migra-
tory birds worldwide; 
(B) domestic and international field inves-
tigations on migratory birds; 
(C) training and capacity-building activi-
ties related to the relationships between human 
health, domestic animal health, and wildlife 
health; and 
(D) research on methods and approaches 
for detection and enhanced surveillance of 
HPAI and other pathogens in migratory birds; 
and 
(4) send samples for avian influenza testing to 
certified laboratories that— 
(A) meet internationally established meth-
ods standards;
(B) are located at— 
(i) the Influenza Branch of the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention; 
(ii) 
the 
Office 
International 
des 
Epizooties, the world animal health organi-
zation; 
(iii) the Food and Agriculture Organi-
zation; 
(iv) National Veterinary Services Lab-
oratories of the Department of Agriculture; 
or 
(v) the Agricultural Research Service; 
and 
(C) report the findings back to the eligible 
organization and GNAIS partners. 
(d) NETWORK.— 
(1) 
PARTNERS.—Federal 
GNAIS 
partners 
shall, and non-Federal GNAIS partners are encour-
aged to, transmit information related to global dis-
tribution and characteristics of avian influenza to 
the Secretary acting through the eligible organiza-
tion. 
(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary, acting 
through the eligible organization, shall—
(A) use surveillance reports and other for-
mal and informal sources of information to 
identify and investigate local disease outbreaks 
of avian influenza, in coordination with GNAIS 
partners; 
(B) develop a long-term baseline of re-
gional data related to HPAI and pathogens in 
migratory birds for analysis between and across 
sites to create a system to identify when and 
where outbreaks might occur and paths of dis-
persal; 
(C) provide technical assistance for disease 
prevention and control programs based on sci-
entific understanding of the relationships be-
tween wildlife health, domestic animal health, 
and human health; 
(D) provide analytical disease findings reg-
ularly to the Influenza Branch of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention and other 
Federal GNAIS partners to prevent or combat 
human diseases; 
(E) conduct other activities as are nec-
essary to support the GNAIS network and 
GNAIS partners; and
(F) coordinate GNAIS surveillance results 
at the headquarters of the eligible organization. 
(e) DATABASE.— 
(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the eligible organization, shall manage, 
map, and make available on a database on the Inter-
net all results and information gathered under this 
Act. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The database shall— 
(A) provide geographic data on wild bird 
populations and the movements of the popu-
lations and laboratory test results; and 
(B) be available for viewing by any Federal 
agency, foreign country, multilateral institution, 
organization, or individual. 
(f) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall request accred-
ited colleges of veterinary medicine and other GNAIS 
partners to train members of the GNAIS network to— 
(1) monitor important bird areas around the 
world; and 
(2) test for the presence or arrival of avian in-
fluenza and other significant avian pathogens of 
zoonotic concern.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 
2010. 
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