New Report Claims Viral and Bacterial Activity Are Threatening National Security, Slowing Economic Growth. Six Germs are the Biggest Killers of Families and Workforce
Press Conference set at National Press Club June 17 at 9:30 to release Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. The World Health Organization (WHO) today warned that the world has dangerously underestimated the threat bacteria and viruses are posing to national security and economic growth, and may soon miss its opportunity to protect people from this risk.
According to a global report released today by WHO, one in every two deaths among young working age adults and children worldwide are caused by just six infectious diseases: AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis (TB), measles, diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections such as pneumonia. In 1998, these six diseases accounted for nearly 90 percent of all deaths due to infectious diseases among those under 44 years of age.
"The World Health Organization is today issuing a wake-up to the world's governments, decision makers and the private sector to take action against infectious diseases before it is too late, and before the window of opportunity we have to protect ourselves is lost" said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
According to the new WHO report, Removing Obstacles to Healthy Development, the tools to prevent deaths from each of these six diseases now cost under $20 per person at risk, and in most cases under $0.35 Yet these diseases still caused over 11 million deaths in 1998.
"A person can be cured or protected from each one of these diseases for less than the cost of a few bottles of aspirin," said Dr Brundtland "In fact, half of these killer diseases can be stopped for under 35 US cents, less than the cost of this morning's newspaper."
VVHO is concerned that the world's ability to affordably stop these epidemics
might soon disappear as drug resistance, the emergence o
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Contact: Daniel Epstein
epsteind@paho.org
202-974-3459
Pan American Health Organization
17-Jun-1999