MICROBIOLOGY


In the modern era, the spread of diseases, both of humans and animals, has followed trade routes and in particular by rapid


international travel, and probably exacerbated


by climate change and global warming


Omission of vaccination leaves certain populations at risk of infection, as demonstrated by the recent outbreak of group B meningococcal disease in Kent, UK (Gram stain of cerebrospinal fluid showing the Gram-negative diplococcal morphology typical of Neisseria meningitidis [orginal magnification x1000]).


such diseases may be enhanced by global warming.12 Importation of diseases also can


occur through the migration of persons across national borders. The occurrence of a diphtheria outbreak in migrant populations in Europe is an example.13 Furthermore, the failure or omission of vaccination leaves certain populations at risk of disease, as demonstrated by the recent outbreak of group B meningococcal disease among university students and school pupils in Kent in the United Kingdom.


Future of infectious disease The threat from infectious diseases in the future will likely come from new or re-emergent pathogens. In particular, the changes in global warming may alter the range of hosts and vectors to invade new locations. This will likely also be exacerbated by the development of rapid global travel. It is essential that improvements in


early warning systems and detection systems be rapidly expanded.14 Development of vaccines, antimicrobial agents and vector control will greatly impact the early diagnosis and control of future diseases, most certainly in low- and middle-income countries where it will be of paramount importance. Investigation and control of disease


will also likely rely on global coordination supported by substantial political authority and funding. Rapid decision- making will be imperative as will be the rapid development of new tools for the laboratory investigation of disease. PPi


References 1 Wolfe ND, Dunavan CP, Diamond J. Origins


of major human infectious diseases. Nature. 2007 May 17; 447 (7142): 279–83. doi: 10.1038/nature05775.


2 Baker RE, Mahmud AS, Miller IF et al. Infectious disease in an era of global change. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2022 Apr; 20 (4): 193–205. doi: 10.1038/s41579-021- 00639-z.


3 Parashar UD, Sunn LM, Ong F et al. Case-control study of risk factors for human infection with a new zoonotic paramyxovirus, Nipah virus, during a 1998-1999 outbreak of severe encephalitis in Malaysia. J Infect Dis. 2000 May; 181 (5): 1755–9. doi: 10.1086/315457.


4 Patz JA, Epstein PR, Burke TA, Balbus JM. Global climate change and emerging infectious diseases. JAMA. 1996 Jan 17; 275 (3): 217–23.


5 Albanto M, Gavilan RG, Baker-Austin C, Gonzalez-Escalona N, Martinez-Urtaza J. Global Expansion of Pacific Northwest Vibrio parahaemolyticus Sequence Type 36. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 Feb; 26 (2): 323–6. doi: 10.3201/eid2602.190362.


6 Casadevall A, Kontoylannis DP, Robert V. On the Emergence of Candida auris: Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and Birds. mBio. 2019 Jul 23; 10 (4): e01397–19. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01397-19.


7 Judson SD, Robinowitz PM. Zoonoses and global epidemics. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2021 Oct 1; 34 (5): 385–92. doi: 10.1097/ QCO.0000000000000749.


8 Shoemaker T, Boulianne C, Vincent MJ et al. Genetic analysis of viruses associated with emergence of Rift Valley fever in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, 2000-01. Emerg Infect Dis. 2002 Dec; 8 (12): 1415–20. doi:


24 WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM June 2026 10.3201/eid0812.020195.


9 Dixon LK, Sun H, Roberts H. African swine fever. Antiviral Res. 2019 May; 165: 34–41. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2019.02.018.


10 Li Y, Shi J, Zhong G et al. Continued evolution of H5N1 influenza viruses in wild birds, domestic poultry, and humans in China from 2004 to 2009. J Virol. 2010 Sep; 84 (17): 8389–97. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00413-10.


11 Wren M, Petts D, Guthrie G et al. Pestilence, Plague and Pandemics: A Troubled History. Ulster Med. J. 2022 Sep; 91 (3): 143–51.


12 Mordecai CA, Caldwell JM, Grossman MK et al. Thermal biology of mosquito-borne disease. Ecol. Lett. 2019 Oct; 22 (10): 1690–708. doi: 10.1111/ele.13335.


13 Hoefer A, Seth-Smith H, Palma F et al.; 2022 European Diphtheria Consortium. Corynebacterium diphtheriae Outbreak in Migrant Populations in Europe. N Engl J Med. 2025 Jun; 392 (23): 2334–2345. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2311981.


14 Gates B. The next epidemic--lessons from Ebola. N Engl J Med. 2015 Apr 9; 372: (15): 1381–4. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1502918.


Professor Michael Wren MBE FRSB FIBMS is a well-known name in the area of anaerobic microbiology and was a practising biomedical scientist for 43 years until his retirement. Throughout a long and distinguished career, Professor Wren published numerous papers, contributed to chapters in many textbooks, and co-authored Clinical Microbiology. Working in collaboration with colleagues in industry, he also wrote Introduction to Clinical Anaerobic Bacteriology, a bench guide that has become a fundamental introduction and resource to many microbiologists.


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