Infectious Disease

Abstract

Abstract This chapter, “Infectious Disease,” examines how global health law has evolved to combat the spread of infectious diseases, examining contemporary responses from HIV/AIDS to COVID-19. While scientists long posited that steady progress in controlling infectious disease would lead to the gradual decrease in the global burden of disease, a rapidly globalizing and interconnected world has fostered the rise and rapid spread of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. At the same time, efforts to prevent the spread of disease can cause disruptions to international travel and trade, as well as potential violations of human rights. Global health law has become crucial in combating the spread of disease through a rules-based international response, with policymakers seeking to strengthen surveillance systems across states and establish disease control partnerships between international organizations, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Under the World Health Organization (WHO), states have sought to balance the need for disease prevention and individual protections in the 2005 revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR). Despite these legal advancements through WHO, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed numerous weaknesses in the IHR, and global health law and policy reforms will be necessary to identify, control, and prevent the cross-border spread of infectious disease.