- The world should brace itself for an increase in infectious
diseases like SARS because of a fatal under-estimation of the power of
viruses and bacteria, an expert said today.
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- Professor Peter Curson, a historical epidemiologist at
Sydney's Macquarie University, said Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome was
in many ways a monster of man's own making, along with other new diseases
like AIDS and Ebola.
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- He said human behaviour had created a situation where
basically benign infections existing in the environment or among animals
and humans had been given a "leg-up".
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- Prof Curson said the world was now entering a phase of
public health where infective agents were becoming more aggressive and
where a whole new range of disease was emerging.
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- However the medical community had got it wrong by writing
off infectious diseases after the eradication of smallpox in 1979 and focusing
on lifestyle, chronic and degenerative conditions, like cancer and obesity.
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- "That reflects that we've undervalued the biophysical
environment, we've sort of regarded it as a stationary target," Prof
Curson said.
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- "We failed to appreciate fully that disease agents
change and modify and mutate ... we've thought the magic bullet would cure
all, like antibiotics."
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- Instead of a magic bullet, antibiotics had created resistant
infections, he said.
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- Meanwhile, humans tampered with the environment to the
extent that the effects were now being seen in the form of mutated viruses.
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- "I believe that the next ten to 15 years will see
a substantial increase in infectious disease," Prof Curson said.
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- "I'm sure we're going to see a lot more interesting
exotic infections."
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- He said in the past Australia was protected from infectious
diseases by its geography, but this was no longer the case.
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- Originally, Australia relied on infections "burning
out" during the long trip back or being contained by lengthy quarantine
requirements.
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- But air travel and an appetite to travel to more exotic
destinations had changed things.
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- Prof Curson said the rise of infectious diseases should
be a lesson in human hubris.
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- "There is a bit of an arrogance, in a sense we are
just one of a competing series of species and bacteria, and viruses are
probably more significant in the whole scheme of things than we are,"
he said.
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- http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/02/1048962802124.html
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