US President Barack Obama has promised to take steps to ensure a faster response to the threat posed by bio-terrorism and infectious disease.
"We are launching a new initiative that will give us the capacity to respond faster and more effectively to bio-terrorism or an infectious disease - a plan that will counter threats at home, and strengthen public health abroad," Obama said in his State of the Union speech on Wednesday.
Obama offered no further details but the White House issued a statement saying government officials would "re-design" medical contingency plans to ensure the speedy delivery of drugs in the case of a major biological attack or the spread of infectious disease.
The effort would take advantage of "market forces" and enlist the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry to reduce the risks posed by biological weapons and infectious disease, it said.
Obama's vow came a day after a bipartisan panel warned the government had failed to take sufficient action to respond to the threat of possible biological attack.
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The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism said in a "report card" that the government's botched response to the swine flu epidemic showed a lack of readiness which it said dated back to previous administrations.
The government also needed to improve oversight of "high-containment labs" used to isolate dangerous biological agents, the panel said.
