Tropical and Infectious Diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases & Recent Outbreaks

Relatively little is known about newly emerging infectious illnesses. As was the case with SARS and avian influenza, their sporadic, unpredictable outbreaks have the potential to quickly spread globally. They frequently have high mortality rates, are zoonotic (originating from an animal source), infect large numbers of people at once, cause a great deal of anxiety, and are extremely frightful and alarming. This is frequently because there is insufficient public infrastructure to identify, stop, and treat them. A couple of more recent examples of these illnesses include MERS and Ebola, both of which are RNA viruses with the capacity to change from one outbreak to the next, making them even deadlier.

Antibiotic overuse has led to the evolution of bacteria that are multidrug resistant, posing therapeutic problems that must be addressed by the creation of novel medicines or combination therapies. Through genomic analysis, in vitro, cell-based, and in vivo research, our broad product portfolio supports scientists in making important discoveries that hasten the development of drugs and vaccines.