# 2260
Nearly 40 years ago it was widely believed in medical circles that we were on the verge of eliminating infectious diseases as an ongoing threat to mankind.
In 1969, the Surgeon General of the United States, William H. Stewart, declared, "The war against diseases has been won."
In the 3rd edition of the textbook Natural History of Infectious Disease, published in 1962, the forward declared that the late 20th century would be witness to "the virtual elimination of infectious disease as a significant factor in social life."
They were wrong, of course.
Each year it seems we are confronted with new, mostly zoonotic diseases that have the potential (and even the likelihood) of infecting mankind.
Diseases that were unheard of in 1969 - such as AIDS, Hendra, Nipah, Lyme, Avian Flu - have emerged as major contenders.
And of course, old favorites - once thought on the way to elimination- are back at work as well. Polio, mumps, measles, dengue and tuberculosis to name a few.
Today we get an editorial opinion from the Sydney Morning Herald by Peter Curson, professor of population and security, and Jonathan Herington, projects officer (biosecurity) for the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney.
They warn that the threats to our national security can often be microscopic in size.
The battle to secure our borders against a tiny, but lethal, enemy force
- PETER CURSON, JONATHAN HERINGTON
August 29, 2008
We once thought the battle against infectious disease was won.
Security experts now tell us this is not so. In a globalised, interconnected world - where people, trade and goods move around like never before - people, their pets, livestock, wildlife and crops are still vulnerable.
Animal and human diseases and insects respect no national borders. They move easily across time and space. Infections and insect pests once thought limited to certain parts of the world are now able to spread easily and quickly to Australia. And we still do not fully appreciate that human health is intimately connected to animal health and that wildlife and domestic animals and insects continue play a huge part in whether our livestock and crops prosper and whether we remain healthy.
SARS, Avian influenza and equine flu demonstrated quite clearly how poorly prepared we are for such events and the vulnerability of our trade, tourism, agricultural industry, biodiversity and human health to introduced diseases.
There are many potential threats to Australia's biosecurity. Some, such as invasive alien species, invertebrate and vertebrate pests, as well as animal infections, threaten the viability of our wildlife and rural industries, on occasions reaching out to affect us as well. The equine flu disaster and the Hendra virus outbreak in Queensland demonstrate this only too clearly. Others, such as avian influenza or a new pandemic of human flu, threaten the health of millions of citizens.
Most Australians believe that only developing nations have to worry about insect-borne diseases. Yet over the last 200 years, mosquitoes and fleas have been responsible for thousands of deaths and sickened millions of people in Australia.
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