For example, the University of Minnesota will survey avian influenza among people, poultry, pigs, dogs, cats and wild birds in rural Thailand. It will also monitor birds in Vietnam and Laos and poultry operations in other Asian countries.
The $23 million will establish six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, the University of California in Los Angeles, Emory University in Atlanta, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.
In addition to monitoring viruses, the centers will help the federal government generate the tools to prepare and respond to an influenza pandemic.