Homeland Security Officers Say They’re Not Ready For Bird Flu
WASHINGTON—A union official is saying Homeland Security Department inspectors at U.S. airports lack training about bird flu.
An official of the National Association of Agriculture Employees said live birds in the luggage of a passenger from Vietnam this week were mishandled at Kennedy International Airport.
A Homeland Security spokeswoman said inspectors routinely have stopped and screened passengers and fowl entering the United States from flu-afflicted areas.
The union official said inspectors have gotten only scant training on how to handle possible bird flu carriers. He predicts that it will be “like Katrina,” saying that nothing will be done until it’s too late.
One senior Homeland Security official said training would be increased when a domestic bird flu outbreak appears imminent.