April 27, 2006 Source: :
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/060427-2255.asp The biggest smallest threat: Infectious diseases are growing concern Global health threats attributed to improper antibiotic use, bizarre animal husbandry practices, human mobility
Apr 27/06
by Karen Kelly (about) (email) Bacteria, viruses, fung - It's hard to believe that tiny microscopic organisms can decimate populations. Still, whether it’s the Black Death of the Middle Ages or the new threat of avian flu, deadly biological agents are reminders that big things do come in small packages. "Infectious diseases have always been the leading cause of illness and death in the world," said Professor Kevin Kain of medicine and director of Toronto General Hospital’s tropical diseases unit. "They strike people at often the most productive parts of their lives so they can have catastrophic effects on the economy, particularly in the developing world." Science has also established the deadly link between many cardiovascular diseases and cancers precipitated by hepatitis B and hepatitis C or the human papilloma virus. "We always think of smoking related cancers — which are obviously a problem — but on a global scale, infection-related cancers probably outnumber them," Kain said. Improper antibiotic use, bizarre animal husbandry practices and increased human mobility are all contributing to new infectious diseases or deadly new takes on old ones. At a recent U of T conference, Kain along with other infectious and chronic disease experts from around the world discussed issues related to global health. The conference, Crossroads in Global Health: The Dual Challenge of Infectious and Chronic Diseases, aimed to raise awareness and create dialogue about global health issues. "We need to put it on the table to get people in the West to think about it — not just the avian flu but the big picture — and what type of steps we’re going to take," Kain said. "What’s clear is that emerging infectious diseases are not just health threats to the developing countries, they represent security, economic and health threats to the entire world." These biological threats include the avian flu as well as the next unidentified big threat and researchers are calling for better tools, surveillance, communication and interaction among all nations. What’s clear is that many new infectious diseases will emerge from resource-poor areas but sting the global population. And while public attention has been directed primarily to the avian flu, a new wave of pathogens is waiting to jump to the human population as their habitat
becomes scarce. "Thinking about other threats doesn’t get a lot of attention," Kain said. "There’s probably a whole bunch of other infections out there that we haven’t even tweaked to, yet it doesn’t mean they’re going to sit there quietly." As for global health experts, they’re now faced with a unique predicament. "We live in an interesting time," Kain said. "On one hand, we’ve got colliding worlds, colliding cultures and on the other hand we’ve got this explosion of biotechnology. I think global health sits at the interface of those two major themes." "We’re talking about diseases that do the greatest harm to the greatest number but traditionally have been largely ignored and under-resourced and we’re trying to address that fundamental inequity."
| 