In 1969, the U.S. Surgeon General told Congress "the time has come to close the book on infectious diseases."
Unfortunately, William H. Stewart's optimism was ungrounded and today the health of the world's population continues to be threatened by a series of new and re-emerging infectious diseases, everything from Ebola to West Nile virus to influenza.
At Michigan State University, faculty experts from scholarly areas as diverse as medicine, cellular research and economics are coming together under the newly founded Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The center's mission: conduct research, provide field-based and clinical training, gather and evaluate data, and improve communication about emerging diseases.
"The concept of starting the center is in response to a national need to train people -- the next generation, if you will -- in infectious disease," said Steve Bolin, a professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation and interim co-director of the center. "There was a large period of time during which training in infectious disease was underemphasized."
MSU is an ideal location for such a center, said Ned Walker, associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics and interim co-director, because it has a wealth of expertise in a variety of areas, including veterinary medicine.
"We're putting a lot of emphasis on diseases that are zoonotic, which are diseases that can affect both humans and animals," said Walker, an associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics. "This is very important, especially when you consider that more than 70 percent of the emerging diseases of the last few decades are zoonotic in nature."
Plans for the creation of the center have been ongoing for several years, long before Sept. 11, 2001. However, in the wake of the terrorist attacks that day and the subsequent anthrax scares, the formation of the center is more important than ever.
"Like everyone, we're very concerned with the intentional introduction of agents of infectious diseases by bio-terrorists," Walker said.
Bolin, Walker and colleagues have identified three areas they'd like to develop within the confines of the center. The three areas are:
* Studying the problem at the cellular level, particularly in the areas of food borne and water borne diseases.* Studying the disease host. "If you have a disease, it isn't in the microbe, it's in the host," Bolin said.* Surveillance. "We'd like to develop some kind of predictive capability," Walker said.
The founding of the center is one of several projects at MSU designed to fight disease and the potential of bio-terrorist attacks.
Earlier this year, the university received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a plant diagnostic laboratory that will provide surveillance, diagnosis and response to plant diseases and pests that could be introduced into the nation's food supply.
A new Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health is being built on campus that will assist in the detection and tracking of diseases in both animal and human populations.
Rapid diagnostic technologies for on-farm identification of pathogens are being developed at MSU.
Initial funding for the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases came from the MSU Foundation.
For additional information, access the center's web site at http://www.cvm.msu.edu/research/ceid/
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