NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

NIH NEWS ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 7, 2001

Contact:
Sam Perdue
(301) 402-1663
sp189u@nih.gov


A PARASITE, A VIRUS, AND A BACTERIUM:  NIAID'S PLAN TO
TACKLE THE WORLD'S LEADING KILLERS

During an address this morning to international infectious
disease specialists, National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony S. Fauci,
M.D., unveiled the Institute's global plan to combat three
leading infectious killers.  The "NIAID Global Health
Research Plan for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis"
provides short-, mid-, and long-term objectives for
battling these diseases by building on the Institute's
strong foundation in global infectious disease research.

"HIV, malaria, and TB combined kill more than five million
people every year and greatly affect the health of the more
than half billion people who live with one or more of these
diseases," says Dr. Fauci.  "By adding new international
partnerships, expanding research programs, and providing
international training opportunities, NIAID can help
develop health strategies that are practical for use in
endemic countries."

The plan addresses three diseases singled out by the Group
of Eight nations in July 2000 in a pledge to reduce the
devastating toll taken by these scourges worldwide,
particularly in developing countries.  The plan outlines
NIAID's goals as it, too, focuses on this deadly troika.

In the 20 years since its first reported appearance, AIDS
has skyrocketed to become the world's second leading cause
of infectious disease deaths.  Since the epidemic began, 57
million people have become infected with the AIDS virus and
more than 21 million people have died.  Malaria, a leading
parasite killer of children in developing countries,
affects up to 500 million people across the globe and kills
one person every 10 to 15 seconds.  Tuberculosis trails
only lower respiratory infections and HIV/AIDS as an
infectious cause of death.  The TB bacterium currently
infects one-third of the world's population, and eight
million people develop disease symptoms each year.

The NIAID plan highlights four key research areas common to
all three illnesses: vaccine and prevention studies, drug
development, diagnostics, and enhancements to research
capacity.  Vaccine research remains a top priority of the
plan.  No vaccine has yet been developed for HIV or
malaria, and although a vaccine exists for TB, it does not
prevent the adult lung disease that ravages much of the
world's population.  In addition to vaccines, new drugs are
needed to combat drug-resistant microbe strains that have
emerged for each disease and to reduce the toxic side
effects of many existing medications, particularly those
used to treat HIV.   Improved diagnostics will allow for
more rapid and accurate identification of disease, allowing
researchers to better assess the incidence of these
diseases and permitting physicians to administer effective
treatment more quickly.

To enhance these research efforts and hasten the
application of promising strategies to the people who need
them, NIAID's plan includes multiple goals for expanding
research facilities within endemic areas and training local
physicians and researchers so they can better provide for
the needs of their communities.  By strengthening
international partnerships, the plan emphasizes treatment
and prevention strategies that are effective and practical
for use in individual areas.

The NIAID plan contains some of the goals previously set
forth last December in the "Global AIDS Research Initiative
and Strategic Plan".  That plan, compiled by the Office of
AIDS Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
highlights current AIDS research from all agencies within
the NIH and outlines future objectives to address the
global spread of the disease.  The NIAID plan expands on
elements of the NIH-wide AIDS research initiative and
provides more comprehensive details of the Institute's
plans in this arena.

"Infectious diseases pose incredibly complex challenges,
with every step made by science countered by adaptations in
the infectious organism," says Dr. Fauci.  "To combat
diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, leading
research organizations must develop comprehensive plans
that bring international scientists together to launch a
multi-pronged attack; improving prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment of these diseases in regions where they exact the
highest tolls."

NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH).  NIAID supports basic and applied research to
prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious and immune-mediated
illnesses, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, malaria, autoimmune
disorders, asthma and allergies.

A copy of the "NIAID Global Health Research Plan for
HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis" can be found online at
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/publications/globalhealth/global.p
df.

Press releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related
materials are available on the NIAID Web site at
http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
is a component of the National Institutes of Health,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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