Epidemic infectious diseases have
shaped many aspects of ancient and modern history.
In an interdependent world, well-known pathogens
and new, emerging infectious diseases continue to
pose a global threat. At the same time, the biomedical
and social sciences have been making incredible
progress in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment
of communicable diseases.
Recent events highlight the importance of
emerging infectious agents, including HIV/AIDS in
the early 1980s, the introduction of West-Nile Virus
in the western hemisphere in the late 1990s, and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome) in 2003, and draw attention to the role of increased travel and global
connections in facilitating the rapid spread of infectious diseases.
HIV/AIDS is now the world’s greatest pandemic. It has claimed more lives than
the Black Plague of the 14th century. With an estimated 16,000 new infections daily,
more than 40 million people worldwide are infected with Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV). More than seven out of 10 of the world’s HIV-infected people live in
sub-Saharan Africa. The impact of HIV/AIDS on local economies, its potential to
contribute to regional instability due to loss of human life, and the moral imperative
to address the pandemic has brought prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS to the
forefront. Increasingly, it is clear that a multidisciplinary team approach including
social scientists, behavioral specialists, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers
is essential to address this global pandemic.
Advances in epidemiology, molecular diagnostics, bio-informatics, and genomics
have enriched our understanding of ancient and emerging pathogens and offer new
avenues for addressing infectious diseases. Vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and new
paradigms of public health have increased our ability to control and even eradicate
infectious agents. The control of many formerly common childhood diseases has
been effectively achieved through the development of vaccines. Smallpox and measles
provide examples of diseases that have been
eradicated by the culmination of modern innovative
public health approaches and widespread vaccination.
In the news today, the potential for a viral antigenic
shift resulting in a more transmissible form of the
deadly H5N1 influenza virus has led to extensive
media coverage and disaster planning at local,
state, and federal levels of government, as well as
international public health bodies.
Teachers and students need a strong foundation
in the biologic and social sciences to place these
events and responses in context and to allow transfer of vital information and
understanding to the community at large. There have been few initiatives to provide
high school teachers with accurate, up-to-date knowledge on infectious diseases. U.S.
high school students continue to be exposed to global infectious diseases through
sensationalized media coverage including popular films and television.
We have been developing a high school curriculum unit with Stanford students
Robin Lee, Michelle Silver, Piya Sorcar, and Jessica Zhang and Gary Mukai of
91³Ô¹Ï to allow teachers and students to place news concerning infectious diseases in
perspective; appreciate diverse social and economic responses to infectious diseases;
and understand infectious diseases in the context of a global, interdependent world.
The curriculum will also encourage students to consider issues related to epidemic
and pandemic infectious diseases and their own personal risk.
The proposed five-module unit is as follows, with the first module having been
completed this summer:
I: Introduction to Virology and Infectious Diseases
II: The Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the United States and around the World
III: Science, Economics, and Business in Infectious Diseases
IV: Local and International Politics and Policy in Infectious Diseases
V: Community and Personal Health
