On the second day of the 2006 Mid-Atlantic Bio conference, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), delivered a fascinating speech on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. In 1963 a noted physician and anthropologist predicted the eventual eradication of infectious disease but as Fauci noted, this prediction couldn't missed the mark. In recent years we've seen the emergence and re-emergence of some of the most serious infectious diseases the world has ever know, including HIV/AIDS, bird flu, SARS, West Nile virus, malaria, and, most recently, extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis. These diseases have challenged scientists and health workers alike, but they've also opened up new opportunities for the healthcare industry to develop new methods of dealing with infectious disease.
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