Contents - Akademi Sains Malaysia

ASM Science Journal, Volume 7(1), 2013In conclusion, one may say that changes in global environment degradation, agriculture practices along with climaticchanges are among some of the overlooked factors in the persistence, emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases.These also interact with trends in economic development, population growth, urbanization, migration and pollution.Climate change and variability add new factors to this driving force. This is further exacerbated by the mushrooming ofurban slums in many developing countries which lack proper sanitation. Will this change? How do we balance the needto open up new lands for agriculture and food production, but at the same time safeguard the habitats of life threateningmicrobes from spreading?Recent investigations attribute more than 150,000 deaths per year and a global disease burden of approximately USD5million annually to climate change. An area that has received particular attention is the potential impact of global warmingon shifts in the spatio-temporal distribution of diseases. Vectors, pathogens, parasites and hosts survive and reproducewithin certain optimal climatic conditions. Changes in climate will alter the transmission of vector-borne diseases invarious ways. The potential impact of global warming on the transmission of neglected tropical diseases has receivedinsufficient attention from researchers.The resurgence of infectious diseases worldwide reflects our quick fix mentality, with poor development planning, a lackof political determination and institutional inertia. It is indeed a man-made situation which is assisted by climate change.Much can be done to reverse the current trend. As well as rebuilding the public health infrastructure for infectious diseasecontrol, there is substantial evidence on how regional planning and development, including urbanization, agricultureexpansion, management and conservation of forests and ecosystems can minimize and even reduce the outbreaks ofinfectious diseases as well as environmental change. Basically, we need an integrated approach to pathogen control. Thisapproach will involve integrating social and economic development programmes, environmental and natural resourcemanagement, with intervention based on disease ecology and community participation.A few months ago, the United Nations in New York world leaders met to assess the achievements of the MilleniumDevelopment Goals. Eradicatng poverty is the greatest challenge facing the world today and an indispensible requirementfor sustainable development, particularly for all developing countries. 1.2 billion people are still living on less than USD1a day and half the developing world lacks access to sanitation. Every week over 200,000 children under the age of five dieof diseases and 10 000 women die giving birth. Climate change is a reminder of the fact that poor people are most likelyto be the first victim and greatest sufferers of environmental degradation. The recent massive flooding in Pakistan is atesimony of this.The world is changing. Competition is on the rise. Nations, regions, companies and individuals compete. The futureglobal economy will be increasingly knowledge-based. Innovation is key to future global economic strength andcompetitiveness. Science, technology and innovation is expected to play a dominant role in economies planning to remaincompetitive. Resource-poor countries in the world have shown the way how technological superiority can make thempowerful in the economic competition. Those which are technologically incompetent, despite being resource-rich, facedifficulties creating wealth.We had a decade or two of unprecedented scientific progress in medicine and there is great promise of more. But wecannot rest on our laurels. The infectious tropical diseases are in danger of being forgotten by a rich world that has forgottenits poor, and they will be forgotten, unless we take an aggressive and entrepreneurial approach, to grasp the scientific,political and economic opportunities that arise, and set in place good defense against the evolution of our biologicalenemies.It is our task to make sure that infectious tropical diseases will not fall back into the darkness of Middle Ages.76