Worldview

Infectious Diseases

Image of SARS virus courtesy of the CDC Conversations about infectious diseases quickly become discussions about something else. Globalism, economic inequality, and environmental degradation usually walk hand-in-hand with these viruses. Since 1970, there's been an global explosion of infectious diseases, which public health experts have called unique in human history. Public Health Enemy: Click to learn more about "Neato Mosquito" from the CDC   The recent SARS outbreak was not an isolated incident, and scientists agree that infectious diseases increasingly pose a global health risk. Recently the diseases have attacked with renewed force, like the predictions of a bumper year for the West Nile Virus. Listen below for interviews conducted in June 2003 on the topic of infectious diseases. These discussions focus on the incalculable damage of infectious diseases in developing countries, why these diseases are on the rise, and a look at new public-private partnership models for research and development for neglected diseases.
	Infectious Diseases: Why now? Paul Epstein — Associate Director of Harvard University’s Center for the Environment 6.09.03	Map of West Nile infections in 2002 Click for more maps
	History of infectious diseases Howard Markel — Director of the Center for the History of Medicine, and Professor of Communicable Diseases at the University of Michigan Medical School 6.10.03
	Responding to infectious diseases Stephen Morse — Director of Center for Public Health Preparedness and Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University’s School of Public Health 6.10.03
	Health care as a human right Paul Farmer — Professor of Medical Anthropology at Harvard Medical School, author of Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor 6.11.03
	Funding Public Health Regina Rabinovich — Director of the Infectious Diseases program for the Gates Foundation 6.11.03
	Infectious Disease: Vaccinating HIV Seth Berkley — Founder and CEO of International Aids Vaccine Initiative 6.12.03	Image of AIDS researcher courtesy of the CDC
	Neglected Diseases Dyann Wirth — Professor of Tropical Public Health at Harvard, director of the Harvard Malaria Initiative, and member of the Core Group of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative 6.12.03
	Fighting TB in Afghanistan Anne Goldfeld, infectious disease specialist at Harvard's Center for Blood Research, Board member of the American Refugee Committee 6.13.03 rebroadcast
	The impending threat of drug-resistant TB Lee Reichman, Professor of medicine at the New Jersey Medical School and Director of its National Tuberculosis Center, author of Timebomb: The Global Epidemic of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis 6.13.03 rebroadcast
	Infectious disease and children Yves Bergevin — Chief of Health for Unicef 6.16.03
	Tetanus – A silent killer in the developing world Dr. Francois Gasse — Senior Health Advisor & Head of Maternal & Neonatal Tetanus Elimination for Unicef 6.16.03
	Eradicating Polio Bill Sergeant — Chairman of Rotary's International PolioPlus Committee 6.16.03
	Links heard on these programs: Unicef Tetanus Elimination National TB Center TB Timebomb The American Refugee Committee Unicef Rotary International Drugs for Neglected Diseases International Aids Vaccine Initiative Partners in Health Gates Foundation promedmail.org W.H.O. report WBEZ is not responsible for the content of external sites