Blackwell Reference Online

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Only decades ago, infectious disease was thought to be on the verge of being vanquished. Developments in public sanitation, immunization, and antibiotics, together with other public-health and scientific milestones, were thought to mean the imminent end of infectious disease. Smallpox had been eliminated; polio was nearly conquered; and diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid, yellow fever, and many other traditionally most feared diseases like leprosy and plague were largely controlled by immunization or treatment. Still others were the subjects of promising research. The US Surgeon General is reported to have said in a burst of optimism, sometime between 1969 and 1972, that it was time to “close the book” on infectious diseases. That this story is quite likely apocryphal is barely relevant; the legend remains alive. Meanwhile, the new field of bioethics was coming into being. Born in the 1960s, bioethics began with observations about the dilemmas physicians faced at the bedside, such as whether to tell dying patients the truth, whether to reveal confidential information, or whether to limit patients' liberties for their own good. However, during the formative period of bioethics, infectious disease played virtually no role. The issues explored in bioethics's early years arose in situations like coma and terminal illness; organ transplantation and dialysis; reproductive failure, including ... log in or subscribe to read full text