2014 a Bad Year for Public Health; 2015 Unlikely to Differ

The Associated Press reported that 2014 was a “black-eye year for public health” due to a variety of mishaps, including “vital vaccines” failing to work and the worst-ever Ebola epidemic. And while there were some success stories, some believe the future doesn’t look particularly bright.

As quoted in the market news:

Infectious diseases are a continuing threat, and no one should think of 2014 as an aberration, said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious disease expert.

‘I think what we really hit is a new normal,’ he said.

Indeed, it could get worse. Osterholm noted that Ebola and MERS barely touched the U.S. this year, and worrisome forms of influenza in Asia and elsewhere may be on the horizon. Arrivals of people from overseas — and whatever germs they’re carrying — are forecast to keep growing. And adding to the threat of new bugs is the revived menace from old ones, as once-treatable germs are increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics, experts said.

Click here to read the full report from the Associated Press.