Combating the threat of new emerging infections.pdfVIP

25 August 2007 Combating the threat of new emerging infections IAMP Working Group 10-12 June 2007, Shanghai, China Under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Co-chairmen: Professor Wen Yu-Mei and Professor Sir Peter Lachmann REPORT Contents: I. Introduction II. The need to implement new technologies for the diagnosis and surveillance novel infections III. Vaccination IV. H5N1 Influenza V. Antibiotic and Antiviral Resistance VI. Summary and Conclusions Appendices: 1. Participants 2. Programme 2 I Introduction The IAMP Project on Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease was approved at the IAMP Global Meeting in Beijing in 2006 and this workshop was its first event. The intention was to provide an overview of the field from the perspective of various Academies with a special emphasis on the problems affecting the developing world. It was inevitable that this approach would lead more to the identification of problems than their solution. Nevertheless a number of conclusions emerged from our discussions which we believe deserve to be pursued further. These fell into two major categories: matters of health policy which require further consideration and action by policy makers; and suggestions directed at scientists for research to be taken up. We hope that the member Academies will promote the first category with their national authorities. We would encourage interested scientists to pursue the second category. II The need to implement new technologies for the diagnosis and surveillance novel infections Zoonotic spread of micro-organisms from wild animal populations to domestic or food animals and directly or indirectly to man is a major factor in new emerging infections. Special importance is attached to novel contacts between such populations being brought about as a result of habitat destruction, global warming or other environmental c