MEDIA
ADVISORY

Additional
Information:

Vaccination Week
in the Americas
2004 Web Page

Vaccines:
Preventing Disease
and
Protecting Health

The Power of Vaccines in the 21st Century

WHAT: Press Conference - The Power of Vaccines in the 21st Century

WHEN: Thursday, April 29, 2004, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: The National Press Club, Zenger Room, 13th Floor, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20045

SPONSOR: The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO)

WHO: Drs. Anthony Fauci, D.A. Henderson, Ciro de Quadros, Peter Hotez, Carissa Etienne, Gina Tambini and Jon Andrus

Some of the world's foremost experts in vaccines and immunization will give a briefing on critical health problems that vaccination will address in the 21st century, when bioterrorism looms as one of the biggest potential health problems and when emerging and re-emerging diseases affect the US as well as other countries in the world.

Taking aim at a range of diseases—including HIV/AIDS, SARS, West Nile virus, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, drug resistant malaria, dengue, and anthrax— new vaccine development ventures appear to be keeping pace with the growing threat of emerging and re-emerging diseases. More than ever in history, vaccines in this century promise to be the first and best line of defense against disease.

This is a one–time opportunity to hear a group of experts discuss how the world can fight these and other health problems through vaccination campaigns and what is being done in the field of vaccine development to tackle these issues.