"Uh-oh" may be the word that best describes medical science's view of the future. Speaking at the "Perspectives in Molecular Medicine" conference held in May 1996 at Notre Dame, public health scientists expressed concern about their ability to cope with deadly new diseases, such as ebola, and new drug-resistant strains of such old diseases as tuberculosis.
"When smallpox was eradicated in 1977 there was a sense of euphoria that we had conquered one disease and could move on to the next one, but that's been replaced today with apprehension," said Professor Fred Murphy of the University of California-Davis, who was the first to observe the ebola virus.
Changes in the environment and in human behavior are the main reasons new diseases are emerging in the human population, Murphy explained. "For instance, as farmers cut down tropical forests, converting the forest to farm land, they have come in contact for the first time with viruses native to the jungle."
The new viruses and resistant forms of the old viruses have combined for a double whammy public health nightmare. Murphy noted that cholera has made a devastating comeback in parts of the Third World. Five years ago the Western Hemisphere experienced its first major outbreak in 75 years. The 1991 epidemic in Latin America counted more than one million cases resulting in 9,000 deaths.
World health officials also fear a resurgence of malaria. "Chloroquine, a widely used inexpensive remedy is no longer effective," Murphy said. "Alternative drugs cost 10 to 50 times as much and resistance is growing to the newest of the anti-malarials."
Dengue, also known as breakbone fever, is another concern. A serious illness spread by mosquitoes, the disease is becoming more prevalent in the Caribbean and Latin America. More than a million cases were reported a few years ago in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A deadly form of the disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever, results in bleeding from the nose and mouth and primarily strikes children.
Along with sharing ideas, the conference was designed in part as a celebration marking the 80th birthday of Morris Pollard, Coleman Emeritus Director of the Lobund Laboratory. Among those who paid tribute to Pollard were Gertrude Elion, winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize for developing drugs to treat leukemia, and Luc Montagnier, one of the discoverers of the AIDS virus. Former students and friends of the ND microbiologist presented the University with a check for $250,000 to establish the Morris Pollard Fellowship in Graduate Studies.
During his long scientific career, Pollard has contributed to advances in the study of prostate cancer, leukemia, Hodgkins disease, the aging process, the role of cholesterol metabolism in heart disease, the effects of intestinal bacteria on nutrition, and the control of environmental pollutants.