Dr. Fauci reflects on the perpetual challenge of infectious diseases - National Institutes of Health (.gov)

Once considered a potentially static field of medicine, the discipline of studying infectious diseases has proven to be dynamic as emerging and reemerging infectious diseases present continuous challenges, Anthony S.

Fauci, who since 1984 has directed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, reflects on his career responding to infectious disease threats.

Fauci notes that the emergence of HIV/AIDS in 1981 led to a sharp increase in interest in infectious diseases among people entering the field of medicine

Since then, infectious disease specialists have faced numerous medical challenges, including the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Ebola, Zika, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and COVID-19, he writes

These technological advances, among others, will greatly benefit the field of infectious diseases, he writes

He concludes by stressing the importance of improving capabilities to respond to established infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis while also responding to emerging threats

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over…but It’s Never Over—Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases

NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)