Biological and Chemical Weapons

Public Health and Global Security 

Recent outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases in the U.S. -- including SARS, West Nile, and monkeypox -- highlighted the need to equip public health systems for the unexpected.  Both deliberately and naturally occurring epidemics pose a threat to global, domestic, and human security, and demand similar tools:

• An effective disease surveillance system to detect outbreaks;
• Valid medical countermeasures to diagnose, treat, or prevent diseases;
• Tested and transparent plans for responding to outbreaks of highly contagious diseases, including the capacity to treat or vaccinate large numbers of patients;
• A stable workforce of highly trained public health professionals.

Emerging and re-emerging diseases, whether due to newly recognized pathogens or the collapse of public health measures in failed states, represent only one aspect of the global disease burden.  In the U.S. alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 36,000 people die each year from the complications of influenza, and 5000 more from food-borne illnesses.  Infectious diseases have an even more devastating impact in the developing world,   High levels of child mortality due to infectious diseases, many of them preventable with available vaccines or simple water and sanitation improvements, continue to erode national stability.   In nations with a high prevalence of HIV, between 10 and 60% of military recruits may be HIV-positive, a burden which destabilizes regional military balances and fosters quick spread of the epidemic during deployments.  Endemic diseases, which occur naturally and regularly in specific areas, still cause unthinkable mortality and misery each year.

Leading causes of disease	Deaths in 2002
Respiratory diseases	3.9 million
HIV/AIDS	2.9 million
Diarrheal diseases	2.0 million
Tuberculosis	1.6 million
Malaria	1.1 million
Measles	0.7 million

Source:  World Health Organization, 2002

The Center's program in global public health examines both the logistics of disease prevention and response -- including disease surveillance and vaccine capacity -- and governance mechanisms to control and eradicate outbreaks.

• Access Information By
• Topic
  African Union Alliances Arms Control and Disarmament Arms Transfers Biological and Chemical Weapons Border Security Catastrophe Response Civil Military Relations Civilian Police Civilian Protection Codes of Conduct Confidence Building Measures Conflict Prevention Congress Cooperative Threat Reduction Defense Budget Domestic Preparedness Economic Sanctions ECOWAS Emergency Incident Response Energy European Union Export Controls Foreign Policy Global Health Homeland Security Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues Intelligence International Criminal Court International Law International Organizations Military Force Missile Defense Nation Building National Security National Security Budget NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Non-governmental Organizations Nonproliferation Nuclear Weapons Peacekeeping Public-Private Partnerships Radiological Weapons Refugees and Displaced Persons Responsibility to Protect Rule of Law Satellites South Asia Space Stabilization and Reconstruction Terrorism Theater Missile Defense Threat Assessment Treaties United Nations USSR-US Relations
• Country/Region
  Afghanistan Africa Angola Australia Côte D'Ivoire China, People's Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Darfur East Asia Europe FSU (former Soviet Union) Haiti India Iran Iraq Israel Japan Kashmir Region Korea, (North-Democratic People's Republic of) Korea, (South-Republic of) Latin America Lebanon Liberia Middle East and North Africa Northeast Asia Pakistan Persian Gulf Russia Sierra Leone Somalia South Asia Southeast Asia Sudan Taiwan Thailand Timor-Leste United States Vietnam

Join our mailing list