World's Leading Killers Targeted

Applied Genetics News,  May, 2001  

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Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has unveiled that agency's Global Health Research Plan for HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis. The plan addresses the three diseases singled out by the Group of Eight Nations in July 2000 in a pledge to reduce the devastating toll taken by these scourges, particularly in developing countries.

"HIV, malaria, and TB combined kill more than five million people every year and greatly affect the health of the more than half billion people who live with one or more of these diseases," says Fauci. "By adding new international partnerships, expanding research programs, and providing international training opportunities, NIAID can help develop health strategies that are practical for use in endemic countries."

AIDS has become the world's second leading cause of infectious disease deaths. Since the epidemic began approximately 20 years ago, 57 million people have become infected with the AIDS virus and more than 21 million people have died. Malaria affects up to 500 million people across the globe and kills one person every 10 to 15 sec. Tuberculosis trails only lower respiratory infections and HIV/AIDS as an infectious cause of death. The TB bacterium currently infects one-third of the world's population.

The NIAID plan highlights four key research areas common to all three illnesses: vaccine and prevention studies, drug development, diagnostics, and enhancements to research capacity.

Vaccine research is the top priority of the plan. No vaccine has yet been developed for HIV or malaria, and although a vaccine exists for TB, it does not effectively prevent the lung disease that ravages much of the world's population.

In addition to vaccines, new drugs are needed to combat drug- resistant microbe strains that have emerged for each disease and to reduce the toxic side effects of many existing medications, particularly those used to treat HIV. Improved diagnostics will allow for more rapid and accurate identification of disease, allowing researchers to better assess the incidence of these diseases and permitting physicians to administer effective treatment more quickly.

NIAID's plan includes goals for expanding research facilities within endemic areas and training local physicians and researchers to better provide for the needs of their communities. The plan emphasizes treatment and prevention strategies that are effective and practical for use in individual areas.

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COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group