Folklore has it that a 1960s US Surgeon General, proclaimed that it is time to close the book on infectious diseases, and declare the war against pestilence won. All evidence indicates that this is a medical urban legend, since there is no written or first hand testimony to this statement. The urban legend does however, reflect the overall optimism in the public health community at that time. For example, Sir Frank MacFarlane Burnet, the 1960 Nobel laureate in medicine, declare. One can think of the middle of the twentieth century as the end of one of the most important social revolutions in history. The virtual emil, elimination of the infectious diseases as a significant factor in social life. Today, 50 years later, infectious diseases are still the second leading cause of mortality in the world. Accounting for more than 15% of all deaths world, worldwide. At the continental scale, almost 2 3rds of all deaths in Africa, are still caused by infectious disease. Our battle against lethal bugs is very much still raging. The virtual elimination still stifles us. To understand the current state of world health, it is instructional to understand the world optimism from half a century ago. It stemmed from the tremendous improvements made in the decades following World War II. With respect to nearly all aspects of infectious diseases. First the discovery and mass production of antibiotics, such, such as penicillin, allowed treatment of many nasty bacterial infections. For which there had previously been no cures. Second, mass vaccination campaigns were repeatedly rolled out to greatly reduce many of the most lethal and debilitating viral diseases. Indeed, Smallpox was at the time already on the brink of being stamped out by the global Smallpox eradication program. Third, widespread application of the insecticide DDT. A practice abolished since, in the 1970s because of its environmental and hu, human toxicity. Had led to the first ever global decrease in many vector born infections. Ranging from malaria to typhus and dengue. In rich countries, this had also all taken place against the backdrop of decreasing incidents of waterborne infections; due to continually improving urban sanitation. There were generally great courses for optimism. Today somewhat more somber outlook comes from two reasons. First, we have come to realize that the human host is continually being challenged, by not only established, but also new pathogens. One of the world's worst current killer. The HIV/AIDS virus, for example, only emerged out of the jungles of Central Africa, sometimes in the middle of the 20th century. Emergence of new diseases is just a continuous process. Second, several diseases against which serious inroads were being made, have for various reasons started to reemerge. Antibiotic resistance, insecticide resistance, vaccine-driven evolution and vaccine refusal. First, bacterial evolution and antibiotic resistance. Tuberculosis, the great killer of the 16th through 19th century, could easily be cured by their antibiotic Streptomycin discovered in the mid 1940s. However, by 1980 resistance had appeared. Since the appearance of the subsequent multi-drug resistant TB strain, the worldwide in, incidence of tuberculosis has been steadily increasing. In 1970, the hope of the public health community was to completely eradicate the disease. In 1993, TB was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. Second, vector evolution of insecticide resistance. Insecticidal control of vectors can be a very powerful weapon against vector borne infections. Unfortunately, insects like bacteria, can evolve resistance. Sri Lanka virtually eliminated malaria from the entire country during the 1960s, using DDT to kill mosquitos. By 1970, the mosquitos had developed DDT resistance. Third, vaccines, like drugs, can drive evolution. And there is evidence that both viral pathogens like Hepatitis B, and bacterial pathogens like Streptococcus pneumonia, have changed over time to get around vaccine induced immunity. A perhaps more surprising cause of reemergence of vaccine preventable infections, is vaccine refusal. Both the Measles-Mumps-Rubella and the Diptheria-Tetanus-Pertussis vaccines, have been the subject of recent vaccine scares. Alleged severe side effects of vaccines. The allegations have been unfounded. However the subsequent large number of parents who have decided against vaccinating their children, have lead to outbreaks of both measles and pertussis in populations that otherwise had robust [UNKNOWN] immunity.