In the past 25 years, more than 30 new infectious diseases have been identified. Among the more well-known of them are AIDS, Hepatitis C, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, Ebola virus, West Nile virus, Avian Influenza virus, Nipah virus and E. coli.
With the ever-increasing convenience of transportation and with tourism flourishing, the number of tourists making international journeys multiplied fifteen fold between 1950 and 1990, from 300,000 to 4.5 million. With a global village in the making, a number of contagious diseases have spread around the world.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the US, US-led forces have waged war on terrorism. At the same time, however, terrorists might have launched biochemical counterattacks.
Biochemical weapons may be the most lethal of all modern weapons, and biological warfare agents have been dubbed "the poor man's atom bomb."
Four pathogens have been recognized internationally as possible biological warfare agents: Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax), Clostridium botulinum (Botulism), Orthopox virus (Smallpox) and Yersinia pestis (Bubonic plague). The most malignant among them is bacillus anthracis, which can cause an acute infectious disease, anthrax.
Destructive epidemics brought by biological warfare will transcend national borders and endanger all countries. Neither the US nor its allies -- including Taiwan -- can guarantee that they will not face biochemical attacks.
To treat lethal diseases transmitted from abroad or caused by biological warfare, like Ebola hemorrhagic fever and anthrax, isolation wards of "biological safety level (BSL) 4" are required. But Taiwan's hospitals are generally equipped only with isolation wards of BSL 2 or 3.
In the case of a large-scale outbreak of such diseases in Taiwan, the isolation wards may not be adequate. Taiwan should therefore establish isolation wards of the BSL 4 standard and also purchase specialized disease-prevention equipment.
At the recent 2001 International Medical Conference held in the French town of Fenney, doctors warned that no country is fully prepared for biochemical terrorist attacks. The convention called on all governments to raise their awareness of the deadly danger posed by chemical and biological attacks and to adopt defensive acts as well. The death toll caused by such attacks could far exceed that of the Sept. 11 tragedies.
Prevention and control of new infectious diseases requires clinical efforts, early warning and surveillance by laboratory personnel, adequate specialist disease-prevention equipment and early adoption of preventive measures. In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has raised its annual budget for the prevention of new infectious diseases from US$1.1 million in 1994 to US$123 million in 2001.
Unexpected outbreaks of new infectious diseases around the world in recent years have repeatedly highlighted the need for -- and significance of -- health systems equipped with the capacity to deal with any kind of outbreak at any time. Since it is impossible to predict when a new type of infectious disease will break out, medical personnel must be fully prepared to fight against such lethal diseases.
As far as Taiwan is concerned, therefore, the focus must be on establishing communication channels between laboratory personnel and public health officials; strengthening the surveillance and prevention of new infectious diseases, and promoting training and international cooperation in order to better diagnose, treat and prevent infectious diseases.
Chang Chiu-wen is an assistant researcher at the Center for Disease Control, Department of Health.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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