Emerging Infectious Diseases

Extraordinary strides in identifying and eliminating the pathogens behind many of the major scourges of the last century prompted the US Surgeon General in 1967 to declare that the war against infectious diseases had been won. But the announcement was premature. The steady stream of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases since the 1960s has been a sobering wake-up call. Despite many accomplishments in the realm of antibiotics and vaccines such a declaration of victory was not justified. It is now clearer than ever that the human species is in the midst of a war with the microbial world—a resilient foe that will never be completely defeated. The AIDS pandemic illustrates how a new human pathogen emerged as a result of a complex series of opportunities that were presented to an unusual virus that first infected primates. After the virus crossed over to humans most likely as a result of genetic mutations together with accidental transmission human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rapidly spread among different population groups due to profound changes in social and economic conditions in certain countries. (excerpt)