Big Picture on Epidemics
Chatting in the morning, dead by the afternoon.
One of the reasons that infections are so frightening is the speed with which they can kill. Doctors dealing with human cases of avian flu in the Far East have seen their patients worsen dramatically and die within a day. Add to that the fear of the new and unknown, and emerging infections can seem truly terrifying.
How do we stop new diseases emerging or re-emerging infections getting out of hand?
How does this happen in a world of such global economic imbalance, where countries vary greatly in the resources they can put into fighting disease?
And how do we balance individual rights with the need to protect public health?
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Weighing up the risks
How should individuals and governments respond to the possibility of new outbreaks?
Industrial relations
Pharmaceutical companies have an important role to play in disease control.
Who gets the medicine?
If there is not enough medicine to go round, who should be first in line?
Culture of epidemics
New diseases have inspired numerous works of fiction.
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