Global Infectious Disease Policy

ference featured 8 speakers and 35 poster presentations.) opened the conference with a presentation on the search for the origins of HIV. The evidence indicates that two simian immu-nodeficiency viruses (SIV), one from chimpanzees (SIVcpz) and the other from sooty mangabeys (SIVsm), crossed the species barrier to humans, generating HIV-1 and HIV-2, respectively. Dr. Hahn stressed the importance of characterizing the prevalence, geographic distribution, and genetic diversity of naturally occurring SIV infections to investigate whether humans continue to be exposed to SIV and if such exposure could lead to additional zoonotic transmissions. gave a personal account of how bovine spongi-form encephalopathy (BSE), appeared in Europe and how chronic wasting disease (CWD,—another transmissible spon-giform encephalopathy that affects elk and deer) is spreading across North America. The disease seriously affects the elk industry. CWD causes emaciation and eventually death. The disease has been endemic for decades in elk and wild deer populations in southeastern Wyo-ming, northeastern Colorado, and a small part of Nebraska. That infections on elk farms could spread the disease to wild populations of elk and deer is of concern and may affect the hunting industry, especially in eastern states, which have large populations of white-tailed deer. MD) recounted the history of state-sponsored biological weapons programs and the emergence of bioterror-ism by non-state participants in recent years. The various ways biological agents can be used as weapons and the potential routes of exposure were discussed as prelude to the medical effects of these agents and their effects on the health-care system. Medical countermeasures and other important responses to attacks with biological agents were highlighted, including priorities for the nation to be better prepared. After the anthrax attacks in Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC, the threat of biological warfare became much more real; however, these attacks were not the first in the United States. Dr. Eitzen released a document entitled, " Protecting the Nation's Health in an Era of Globalization: CDC's Global Infectious Disease Strategy, " which describes plans for controlling infectious diseases worldwide. The document outlines global partnerships and measures for improving capacity for disease surveillance and outbreak response and for applying proven public health tools to the control of emerging infectious diseases over the next decade. In addition, the document calls for strengthening global initiatives for disease control, conducting applied research on diseases of international importance, and building public health training and capacity worldwide. International Emerging …