The Bush administration is taking a more proactive stance in boosting our protections against an expected pandemic of avian flu, shifting away from the quarantine mode to one focused rightly on prevention and treatment.

That's a relief.

Now it's time for the follow-through: Putting up the funds for production of medication and continued work on an effective vaccine to head off a grim disaster.

The virulent H5N1 strain of avian flu virus, carried in birds but transmitted to humans who handle them, has infected 116 people in Asia since 2003, 60 have died. The frightening prospect is that the virus might mutate so that it can be passed from human to human, spreading like wildfire.

Last week scientists issued the chilling discovery that the 1918 pandemic that killed 50 million people was, in fact, a bird flu with several characteristics in common with H5N1.

This dark cloud came with a silver lining: The grim news about the world's perilous situation at least delivered an electrifying jolt, rousing elected leaders out of their sleepwalk.

The president's initial response to this news was distressing. Tuesday he announced that he was considering the use of military troops to impose a quarantine in the event of an outbreak.

That was a knee-jerk reaction and a distraction from the real challenge at hand.

However, on Friday Bush met with drug manufacturers and asked them to to step up production of antiviral drugs and work on a new vaccine against the flu. Good move. And the U.S. Senate has approved nearly $4 billion to build the U.S. stockpile of medications.

But much work remains to protect the public. It's critical to keep the heat on.

To start, international public health networks must be strengthened so that new cases of infection are spotted quickly and reported to authorities. Politics and domestic concerns should not trump international health in a globalized world.

Heading off this pandemic means the virus must be identified while it's still confined to about 30 patients.

Then antiviral drugs would have to be distributed to about 20,000 people nearest those who were infected.

Officials in Hawai'i, which is a stopping point for many Asian travelers, are aware of the state's vulnerability. A coalition of state and federal agencies, as well as private researchers, is studying new ways of identifying diseases, as well as new treatment options.

It's already crystal clear that averting disaster will require cooperation at the highest level among national leaders. The World Health Organization is moving to establish an international stockpile of antivirals.

With all our concern about terrorism and homeland security, nothing should make this homeland feel less secure than our current shortcomings in preparedness against a potentially devastating disease. The U.S. has been behind the curve in preparation for a potential pandemic. It's time to move quickly to narrow the gap.