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Over the years, medical science has been engaged in a constant battle with a powerful and adapting foe: infectious disease. Matt Ridley has well stated the essence and scale of the challenge, "Medicine has underestimated not only the prevalence of infectious diseases but the resourcefulness of it as well. The enemy is not a static finite force, but an infinitely inventive complex of genetic combination engaged in a massive campaign of trial and error." The AIDS pandemic has demonstrated that the global response to a life-threatening disease may exhibit some of the same ineffective response characteristics to threats seen elsewhere. Unchecked by an initial response, AIDS has claimed more than 15 million lives and now continues to spread through the less privileged populations in Africa, Asia, and the rest of the world. AIDS is not the only global concern in the area of disease and infection -- resurgent influenza, drug resistant TB, or even a virulent cousin to the Ebola virus could be the next unchecked epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta and related global organizations have been successful so far in containing outbreaks of particularly virulent strains of infection and disease. But their track record may be tested by less controllable viruses in the future. You can explore strategies and solutions for addressing these health issues in the Plan section.
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