As I was reading an article, Infections are the true beneficiaries of war, the words of a very intelligent man came back to me, “Survival of man is not a preordained event.” The gentleman, a well known physician in the biological agent field, knew the potential for emerging diseases, both natural or intentional, to be the ultimate demise of global populations.

Looking back at past conflicts, it is easy to see how “typical” wars have had a relationship with disease. During the U.S. Civil War, 620,000 soldiers died. Two-thirds were due to disease. While the death rate from disease dropped during WWI, Spanish flu and other infectious diseases caused one third of all military deaths. World War II reached new levels of mortality and morbidity. Civilians deaths are estimated from 38 to 55 million, including 13 to 20 million from war-related disease and famine.

The face of modern conflict has changed from a military standpoint. Great land and sea battles have given way to smaller conflicts. Fought with asymmetrical means, these conflicts are designed to offset the military superiority of nation states. Combatants come from all corners of the globe, and many travel home after their participation. Along with physical and psychological scars, they may also carry diseases that gain footholds among the naive immune systems of their contacts.

Nations may chose to remain neutral or practice isolationism from military conflict. Ultimately, those tactics will fail against the spread of once eradicated or controlled diseases. Preventative health care, properly implemented can be a defensive weapon system for both civilians and combatants alike. Will we find the collective wisdom to move in this direction? Or ignore the words of one wise man?