Over the natural history of zoonoses and their emergence or re-emergence in the early 21st century, the general causes have been a mixture of humans' creation of new urban or agricultural ecosystems in the ruins of older, non-human dominated ecosystems; economies of scale and monocultures in agriculture; fast global travel and unfettered free trade; loss of land and sea biodiversity; social inequities; marginalization of poor people; rapid sprawl of slums; and human-induced climate change. These modifying factors contribute to the destabilization of ecosystems, the dispersal of animals and microbes into new areas, and the creation of a single interconnected world - a giant microbial mixing vessel for infectious agents that previously stayed separate and stayed put. This convergence altered forever the way in which we will experience epidemics and ushered us into a new pandemic age. All these issues must be encompassed in the context of globalization, climate change, ecological collapse, species extinctions, human overpopulation, huge economic and political disparities, and unintended consequences of well-meaning interventions. Unfortunately, our world remains underprepared to predict, detect, respond to, and, even less, prevent infectious disease outbreaks and a fortiori pandemics, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberately released. These threats endanger lives, disrupt families and societies, and wreck havoc on economies. They do not respect national boundaries; do not discriminate between different ethnicities, religions, social or economic status or even age; and can spread rapidly, jeopardizing the health, security, and prosperity of all countries. Yet, the cost of failing to control outbreaks, ruining and losing lives, destabilizing the social fabric, and decimating economies is considerably greater than the cost of prevention. It is therefore in each country's security interest to strengthen global health security and manage the risk of infectious disease outbreaks that might further develop into full-blown pandemics. In this treatise, I offer a tentative prescription for predicting and preventing pandemics, and hopefully arresting this infernal merry-go-round.
Fymat, Alain L.: - DR. ALAIN L. FYMAT is a medical-physical scientist and an educator. He is the current President/ CEO and Institute Professor at the International Institute of Medicine & Science, with a previous appointment as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer and Professor at the Weil Institute of Critical Care Medicine, California, U.S.A. He was formerly Professor of Radiology, Radiological Sciences, Radiation Oncology, Critical Care Medicine, and Physics at several U.S. and European Universities. Earlier, he was Deputy Director (Western Region) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Office of Research Oversight). At the Loma Linda Veterans Affairs Medical Center, he was Scientific Director of Radiology, Director of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center and, for a time, Acting Chair of Radiology. Previously, he was Director of the Division of Biomedical and Biobehavioral Research at the University of California at Los Angeles/Drew University of Medicine and Science. He was also Scientific Advisor to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, for its postdoctoral programs tenable at the California Institute of Technology and Member of the Advisory Group for Research & Development, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He is Health Advisor to the American Heart & Stroke Association, Coachella Valley Division, California. He is a frequent Keynote Speaker and Organizing Committee member at several international scientific/medical conferences. He has lectured extensively in the U.S.A, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has published in excess of 525 scholarly scientific publications and books. He is also Editor-in-Chief, Honorable Editor or Editor of numerous medical/scientific journals to which he regularly contributes. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences and the European Union Academy of Sciences, a board member of several institutions, and a reviewer for the prestigious UNESCO Newton Prize, United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO.
