Official: War on Disease Still Key

Dr. Norman Neurieter, who advises Secretary of State Colin Powell on science and technology issues, said on Friday that the war on terrorism must not deflect attention from the need to combat infectious diseases, some of which could "engulf entire continents" if left unchecked.

"The United States and the international community must not and will not let terrorism or microbes destroy the immense promise that this century holds for humankind," Neurieter told a State Department conference on global infectious disease and US foreign policy. His address was to have been delivered by Powell, who was unable to appear due to a scheduling conflict.

There should be no delays, "regardless of whether the infection is deliberately spread by domestic or foreign terrorists or whether it is naturally occurring, as with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria," Neurieter said. "Already these killers have taken the lives of tens of millions. They can devastate communities. They can cripple economies. They can decimate countries," he said. "HIV/AIDS kills over 8,000 people" every day Neurieter said. "Twenty-two million have died from it since 1980, and 38 million are infected and will die within seven years."

Dr. John Lamontagne of the National Institutes of Health said 48 percent of all deaths of people under age 45 and two-thirds of all deaths of children under age 5 are the result of infectious disease. He said 1.5 million to 2.7 million deaths around the world each year are attributable to malaria, which kills one child every 20 to 30 seconds.

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