DISCOVERIES
THE RETURN OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
PRIMER
With measles, plague and cholera all rearing their heads again, are we seeing an unprecedented level of disease re-emergence? And what would it take to start another pandemic?
The first quarter of this year has heralded outbreaks of measles in the US and the UK; a global shortage of the cholera vaccine; and even a case of bubonic plague for the unlucky owner of an infected cat in Oregon. Infectious diseases we thought were long gone are resurfacing, thanks in part to global conflict, international travel and climate change. But how much disease re-emergence is normal?
To find out, we spoke to Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School.
HOW NORMAL IS IT FOR DISEASES THAT WE THINK ARE GONE TO COME BACK?
The issue is whether they’ve actually gone or not. A lot of infections that were common once and still spread within society can come back with force in the future. Globally, we typically see one or two significant emergences or re-emergences every year, on average.