Current infectious diseases threats discussed.

2003 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Current emerging infectious disease threats are bringing a heightened sense of awareness of smallpox, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), monkeypox, norovirus, HIV, and West Nile virus, health officials said at a press conference sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

Experts discussed the status of these threats and outlined current and future preparedness efforts needed in the United States to manage them.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH discussed how the public's health will be impacted in the years to come by emerging infectious diseases like SARS.

"Although the epidemic appears to be coming under containment now, we have no idea what to expect in the fall. It would not be surprising if we had a resurgence," said Gerberding. SARS could reappear in the fall much like other respiratory illnesses such as influenza and may be spread by people who don't realize that they are carriers of the virus. Many individuals who have contracted SARS have had mild versions or no symptoms at all. It is still unknown whether the virus can be transmitted by those who are asymptomatic. Although the future of SARS is uncertain, more information is available regarding the disease that will allow the medical community to act quickly if an outbreak should occur.

Gerberding explained that it is important to be vigilant during these times. "The new normal is emerging infectious diseases, and emerging infectious diseases that are almost instantaneously a global concern because of the speed with which people, animals and products move around the world," said Gerberding. In order to adapt to these new threats there is a need for timely identification and reporting, the need to consider health problems from a global perspective, and the need to incorporate practicing physicians in the process as much as possible.

With the discovery of HIV 20 years ago and the demonstration that HIV is the cause of AIDS, it seemed that a vaccine would follow closely behind. "While we now have a clearer understanding of the challenges and obstacles in the path to an AIDS vaccine, much work remains to be done," said Gary J. Nabel, MD, PhD, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. Nabel stated that we have learned much about the three-dimensional structure of the HIV envelope.

Armed with this knowledge, specific targets may be revealed for HIV vaccines that can stimulate a broadly neutralizing antibody immune response. Experts also have a better understanding of how the HIV virus evades the body's normal immune response and how the virus enters target cells.