Date: Mon, 17 Apr 1995 11:44:22 +0500
From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com
Subject: CDC Nat. AIDS Hotline Training Bul. #126


           CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
                       HIV/AIDS PREVENTION
           CDC NATIONAL AIDS HOTLINE TRAINING BULLETIN
.................................................................

February 23, 1995                                           #126

This is a statement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
concerning the need for basic biomedical research on malicious
microbes.

Threats to the health of the world's citizens from re-emerging and
enduring infectious diseases and the certainty that new, harmful
microbes will emerge underscore the importance of continued support
of basic biomedical research, says John La Montagne, Ph.D., of the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Malicious microbes, the illnesses they cause, and NIAID's research
programs to combat them are among the topics that Dr. La Montagne
discussed Feb. 21, at the annual meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science in Atlanta, GA.  Dr. La
Montagne directs the Division of Microbiology and Infectious
Diseases at NIAID, part of the National Institutes of Health, which
is the federal focal point for biomedical research.

"Modern science has succeeded in controlling many infectious
diseases through the development of highly effective drugs and
vaccines that have prevented, for example, most once-common
childhood infections," says Dr. La Montagne.  "This success led to
the perception that infectious diseases were no longer major
problems.

"However, during the last 15 years several events--among them, the
global emergence of HIV/AIDS and multiple drug-resistant
pathogens--shattered this illusion and firmly established that
infectious diseases are not static, but dynamic problems that will
continue to pose public health threats and constantly challenge the
scientific community,"  he continues.  "Their human and economic
tolls are an important impetus for us to improve the detection,
treatment, and prevention of these illnesses, and this requires a
continued commitment to research."

The institute's programs include support for laboratory and applied
research on the environmental influences, microbial adaptations,
and organism interactions that influence emerging microbes.  NIAID
also provides funds for the development and testing of control
strategies, including vaccine development.  Together with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the institute
supports detection of and quick scientific responses to outbreaks
of diseases.

New and re-emerging microbes are those that are recently
identified, causing more disease in humans or threatening to spread
to new areas in the near future.  While HIV, recognized just 15
years ago, is the most dramatic example of a new pathogen, other
viruses, bacteria, fungi, and illnesses have emerged to menace
humans, such as Legionnaire's disease, Lyme disease, toxic shock
syndrome, and drug-resistant strains of common bacteria, including
those that cause tuberculosis.  Among the newest microbes is a new
cholera bacteria strain, O139, that emerged in Southeast Asia in
1992 and affected more than 500,000 people.  In the United States,
the emergence of hantavirus has caused 98 cases of hantavirus
pulmonary syndrome in 21 states since June 1993.

New microbes develop or old pathogens re-emerge for many reasons,
Dr. La Montagne explains.  "Microbes have the capacity to reinvent
themselves.  Compared to people, viruses and bacteria have very
little genetic material and one mutation can change a microbe's
ability to infect, spread, or cause disease," he says.  "Also,
microbes can transform themselves rapidly because they exist in
large numbers and quickly reproduce."

Additionally, climate changes, new housing patterns, and regional
and international trade contribute to disease development.  For
example, new communities built in reforested areas of the
northeastern United States have increased the contact between
people and the ticks that carry the Lyme disease bacteria.

Public health failures or changes can foster disease, as well, Dr.
La Montagne notes.  The inadequate quality control of handling and
preparing raw foods have led to life-threatening illnesses caused
by a virulent strain of the bacterium E. coli in several states.
In Milwaukee, WI, 400,000 people became ill in 1993, from water
contaminated with Cryptosporidium.

Further problems stem from the extensive and inappropriate use of
antibiotics, including broad-spectrum drugs that kill many species
of bacteria at once.  These health care patterns, along with the
lack of adherence to the full therapeutic regimen, have led to the
development of drug-resistant bacteria, several of which may soon
be untreatable with current drugs, Dr. La Montagne notes.