Viral Trade and Global Public Health

摘要

In June 2003, some 80 people in three Midwestern states were stricken with monkeypox. Until then, the disease―a sometimes fatal viral infection related to smallpox―had never been seen outside Central and West Africa. In the United States, the virus is believed to have spread to humans from pet prairie dogs, which in turn were likely infected by a giant Gambian rat held by a Chicago exotic pet dealer. So far, no one has died. But if the outbreak is confirmed to be an inadvertent byproduct of trade, then it is yet another warning sign of the growing international exchange of viruses. The increase in viral traffic is the result of two converging trends: Deadly new viruses are appearing at an accelerating rate, and viruses are traveling around the world faster than ever before. During the past several decades, a number of new or changing viruses have emerged, wreaking havoc wherever they strike. The deadly avian influenza virus that hit Hong Kong in 1997-1998 and the Netherlands in 2003, for example, required the mass slaughter of poultry to control the outbreaks. And HIV has decimated much of the working population in sub-Saharan Africa and threatens other parts of the world.